  Optical sections of the cornea are obtained by illumination with a collimated
beam expanded in a fan shape by a small rotary cylindrical lens. The light
diffused from the cornea is observed by two cameras and processed in order to
yield the surfaces' profiles. The optical system used to project a thin
rotating line on the cornea consists of a white light source provided with
optical fiber bundle output which is first conditioned by a set of lenses so
that it would produce a spot on the cornea. A small cylinder lens is used to
expand the beam in one direction so that a thin line illuminates the cornea,
rather than a spot. The cylinder lens is provided with motor driven rotation
about an axis normal to its own in order to rotate the line on the cornea such
that the projected line scans the whole cornea; the illuminator is completed
with a slit aperture. The cornea is not perfectly transparent, scattering some
of the light that traverses it; this fact is used for its observation by two
cameras. These are placed at pre-defined angles with the illumination axis, so
that optical sections of the cornea can be seen; the use of two cameras avoids
the need for camera rotation in synchronism with the cylinder. The two cameras'
images can be combined in order to simulate a single virtual rotating camera.
Image processing is used to extract information about the corneal surfaces
profiles and thickness from the optical sections. Several peculiar aspects of
processing are discussed, namely the corneal edge detection algorithm, the
correction for angle of view and deformation due to observation of the inner
surface through the cornea.
