Patent ID: 7967440

Claim:
A system, comprising: a light pattern generator comprising a plurality of light spots configured to illuminate a front surface and a back surface of a cornea of an eye with polarized light; one or more detectors positioned to receive one or more of a first plurality of spot images from light reflected off the front surface of the cornea and a second plurality of spot images from light reflected off the back surface of the cornea, the light reflected off the front surface of the cornea having a first polarization and the light reflected off the back surface of the cornea having a second polarization different from the first polarization; a polarization element disposed in an optical path between the back surface of the cornea of the eye and the one or more detectors, the polarization element being configured to attenuate an intensity of the light reflected off the front surface of the cornea by an amount greater than an amount by which it attenuates the light reflected off the back surface of the cornea; and a processor configured to determine a geometric characteristic of the cornea of the eye using at least the second plurality of spot images received by the one or more detectors.