Iris Transillumination

Iris transillumination was first developed in 1982 by H. Stanley Thompson, MD and Randall E. Verdick, FOPS, at the University of Iowa.

Dr. Thompson and Randy Kardon, MD, PhD were interested in "Adie's" pupils and their segmental constriction to light. In 1986 W.L.M. Alward, MD began looking at iris transillumination defects in patients with PDS (pigment dispersion syndrome). In 1993 William D. Mathers, MD and John E. Sutphin, MD, began looking at the meibomian glands in the upper and lower eyelids using this technique. Thomas Weingeist, PhD, MD also used IR video to look at iris tumors, nevi, and cysts. This clinical use has led to numerous ophthalmic journal publications. Infrared video transillumination is used daily in the Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences.