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Abstract
A double-pass imaging polarimeter has been used to compute the central corneal birefringence axis and retardation in a group of 22 eyes of different ages. Sets of four retinal images corresponding to independent polarisation states in the analyser unit were recorded. From the intensities at the image central area the corneal polarimetric parameters were computed using the Stokes–Mueller formalism. Although the (slow) axis of the central cornea presented individual differences, it was mostly lying along the nasal-downward direction. Corneal retardation also presented a broad distribution. Neither the axis nor the retardation was correlated with age. There was a significant correlation between age and the intensity at the central area of the images. This technique might be a useful tool when combined with clinical instruments oriented to glaucoma detection, which include corneal compensation for polarimetric retinal imaging.
Acknowledgements
The author thanks E. Berrio for her valuable assistance during the data collection and the early stages of the image processing, and Prof. P. Artal for helpful discussions. All the anonymous subjects included in the study are also gratefully acknowledged. The research has been supported by the Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia, Spain (Grant FIS2007-64765).