Confocal Microscope
"Confocal" means having the same focus. Applied to a microscope, this means the final image has the same focus as or the focus is consistent with the point of focus in the object. Confocal microscopy has several advantages over traditional microscopy including: greater control over the depth of field, reduction of out-of-focus image data and ability to gather consecutive optical sections (high resolution images) data from thick samples.
Confocal microscopes are beneficial to refractive surgery as a non-invasive way to evaluate corneal healing, long-term stability and to assess post-operative complications, inflammatory cells, and measure the thickness of the residual corneal bed after LASIK.
