METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MEASURING A CORNEAL PROFILE OF AN EYE

Embodiments of the present invention provide a method and apparatus for measurement of a corneal profile of an eye. In particular, one embodiment of the present invention is a corneal diagnostic instrument including: (a) a Placido ring illuminator disposed to project radiation onto a cornea to generate a Placido ring image; (b) multiple slit lamp projectors disposed to project slit light beam images onto the cornea to generate slit light beam images; (c) a camera system optically disposed to detect the Placido ring image and the slit light beam images; and (d) a controller, coupled to the slit lamp projectors, the Placido ring illuminator, and the camera system, to cause the slit light beam images and the Placido ring image to be generated and detected in a predetermined sequence, wherein the controller is responsive to the detected Placido ring image and the detected slit light beam images to determine a corneal thickness profile.