Comparison of Infrared Transillumination Versus White Light Transillumination for Visualization of Lower Lid Meibomian Glands
Purpose
To evaluate subjective differences between white and Infrared (IR) light when transilluminating lower lid meibomian glands for the purpose of visualizing meibomian gland structure
Methods
12 eyelids were imaged at a slit lamp using standard white light transillumination and digital images were taken of the results using a regular digital camera for the white light transilluminated images and a regular digital camera with the IR filter removed for the IR transilluminated images. The same subjects were then imaged using IR transillumination and photographs were taken. The resulting photographs were evaluated and compared for the purposes of ease of visibility of the meibomian gland structures.
Results
For all 12 comparisons, without exception, the IR transillumination resulted in images with superior definition and visibility of meibomian gland structure. The IR transillumination images also exhibited increased contrast between the glands and surrounding tissue. The increase contrast rendered any structural gland features more easily observable relative to the white light transillumination images.
Conclusion
Transillumination is a simple and effective method to visualize the glands at the slit lamp. However, when comparing the results of transilluminated white light to transilluminated IR light, the definition and visibility of meibomian gland structure is superior using IR light.