INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES APPLIED TO LEARNING THE USE OF THE LENSMETER

The lensmeter (also known as focimeter) is an essential optical instrument in the practice of the optometrist. It is used to determine the ophthalmic lens power and its optical center as well as the orientation of the main meridians in case of the lens being astigmatic. The manual lensmeter is based on an illuminated test, a collimation system and an observation system that includes a reticle. The power of a lens, its optical center and the orientation of the meridians are determined visually from the position of the test which provides a sharp image. If we replace the observer with a camera, we can record the measurement technique, so we can explain it in detail showing what to see and how to. The application of ICT to the lensmeter will facilitate the explanation of its use since we will be able to project a live video to show the measurement process to all the group of students. In addition, it will allow the recording of different videos that could be uploaded to a cloud and be available to the student at any time and place. As a starting phase, we have recorded two videos showing some elemental techniques to measure lens power and we have surveyed students about their usefulness. The results encourage us to continue with this project.