THE CONOID OF STURM

Course overview

REFRACTIVE ERRORS ARE THE SECOND LEADING CAUSE OF GLOBAL VISUAL IMPAIRMENT. OF THE REFRACTIVE ERRORS, ASTIGMATISM IS THE MOST COMMON. IN UNDERSTANDING ASTIGMATISM, THE CONOID OF STURM IS A CENTRAL CONCEPT. THE CONOID OF STURM IS THE CONFIGURATION OF RAYS REFRACTED THROUGH AN ASTIGMATIC (TORIC) SURFACE. A TORIC SURFACE HAS DIFFERENT CURVATURES OF ITS TWO MERIDIANS. RAYS OF LIGHT PASSING THROUGH SUCH A SURFACE COME TO FOCUS AT TWO FOCAL LINES. THE DISTANCE SEPARATING THE TWO FOCAL LINES IS CALLED THE INTERVAL OF STURM. AS LIGHT IS TRANSMITTED THROUGH THE FOCAL ELEMENTS OF THE ASTIGMATIC EYE (THE CORNEA AND CRYSTALLINE LENS), IT FORMS A CONOID OF STURM. THUS, IN-DEPTH COMPREHENSION OF THE CONOID OF STURM IS IMPORTANT FOR EYE CARE PROVIDERS TO UNDERSTAND THE OPTICS OF ASTIGMATISM. THIS ACTIVITY OUTLINES THE ROLE OF THE INTERPROFESSIONAL TEAM IN UNDERSTANDING ASTIGMATISM TO IMPROVE CARE FOR PATIENTS WITH THIS CONDITION.