IMPORTANCE PACHYMETRY
Applanation tonometry is actually a lot less accurate than previously recognized! The measurement results obtained with an applanation tonometer (contact or non contact) are also influenced by corneal properties such as rigidity and thickness. When Goldmann designed applanation tonometry, he assumed that most eyes had a corneal thickness of around 500 micron. Actually there is significant variation in corneal thickness and, as a result, big differences with the IOP value measured with Goldmann tonometry.Information about the actual corneal thickness is important because without it can mask accurate readings of IOP and delay diagnosis of glaucoma. Unless taken into account, thicker corneas contribute to overestimation of IOP values and thinner corneas to underestimation.