Surgical microscope system

In a microscope system for use during ophthalmic surgery on the cornea, the combination comprising:

• a binocular microscope having an entrance lens adapted to be positioned a fixed distance from the eye to provide a surgical field of view through the eyepieces;
• means adjacent said entrance lens for projecting a reference image on said cornea;
• means for optically splitting said reference image to produce a plurality of substantially identical images;
• means for adjusting the optical system for adjusting the images so formed into a predetermined image pattern;
• means responsive to said adjusting means for providing an output indicative of the radius of curvature of the cornea;
• and
• storage means for storing the output.

In a method for use during suturing of an incision adjacent to the cornea to reconstruct the cornea of an eye in accordance with a predetermined radius of curvature, the combination comprising:

• projecting a reference image onto the surface of the cornea;
• placing a binocular microscope with the field of view thereof receiving the reflected light image for viewing through said microscope;
• optically forming at least one other substantially identical image for viewing through said microscope;
• and
• optically varying said reference image and said at least one other image to establish a predetermined image pattern viewable through said microscope only when the sutures of the incision are properly tensioned to provide a predetermined radius of curvature.

In a method for use during ophthalmic surgery utilizing a given binocular microscope system having a microscope providing a surgical field of view of the eye, the combination comprising:

• projecting a reference image onto the surface of the cornea prior to the making of an incision;
• optically forming at least one other substantially identical image for viewing through said microscope;
• optically varying said reference image and said at least one other image into a predetermined image pattern;
• providing an electrical signal indicative of the optical varying required to establish said predetermined image pattern;
• and
• setting the microscope system in accordance with said electrical signal after the incision has been made and prior to suturing, said predetermined image pattern being viewable through said microscope only when the sutures are properly tensioned whereby to reconstruct the radius of curvature of the cornea to that radius existing prior to the operation.