What is axial length?

As a biometric parameter, axial length describes the length of the eye and serves as the basis for determining the position of the eye’s centre of rotation.

Studies in Europe, Australia and Asia have shown that, in addition to refractive error, a number of other factors can have a significant influence on axial length. The axial length of the human eye can differ by up to 7.5 mm and ranges from 20.0 mm to 27.5 mm.*

Only precise measurement of axial length enables highly accurate calculation of the eye’s centre of rotation.

Source: Article by Tiedemann in Acta Ophthalmologica from 2017, reporting on the Rotterdam Study III (RS-III).