Clinical Correlation between Placido, Scheimpflug and LED Color Reflection Topographies in Imaging of a Scarred Cornea

This case report aims to evaluate safety, efficacy and feasibility of anterior surface imaging by a novel point-source reflection topographer, in comparison to four other corneal imaging modalities. A 17-year-old female patient, clinically diagnosed with chronic herpetic keratitis in her left eye was imaged by a novel multicolored-spot reflection topography system. We comparatively investigated elevation and curvature maps between the novel topographer and established Placido disk topography and Scheimpflug tomography systems. Pachymetry maps were compared between the Scheimpflug system and anterior-segment optical coherence tomography system. The Placido system failed to properly register the abnormal anterior surface due to incomplete mire registration, while the Scheimpflug topometry device imaged the anterior surface properly, but not the posterior (due to media opacity), and thus pachymetry was highly irregular and erroneous in this case. Imaging of corneas infected with herpes simplex virus keratitis has been rare; we have not identified any such documentation in the peer review literature in the last 10 years. This novel multicolored-spot reflection topography imaging may offer successful corneal imaging in cases where established clinical topography systems may fail to produce accurate reconstruction of the corneal shape. This is an important case demonstrating exceptional clinical feasibility in such rare cases offered by a newly introduced technology in ophthalmic imaging.