[Clinical value of new tonometers].
In a clinical study four different tonometers [a hand-held applanation tonometer (HAT), a tonometer that works according to the principle of Mackay-Marg and two noncontact tonometers (NCT A und NCT B)] were compared with respect to accuracy and precision. In a randomized sequence, two physicians took six measurements of both eyes of 99 patients using the four different instruments. The interval between the two measurements in one eye was 3 min. The correlations of repetitive measurements for one tonometer in one eye showed good results for HAT (r = 0.985, SD = 1.66 mmHg), but significantly worse values for the other three tonometers (Mackay-Marg type: r = 0.85, SD = 3.5 mmHg; NCT A and NCT B: r = 0.91, SD = 2.93 mmHg). To establish the accuracy, the pressure values of the Mackay-Marg type and NCT A and NCT B were compared with those of the well-established HAT. The results were as follows: Mackay-Marg type: r = 0.84, SD = 3.78 mmHg; NCT A: r = 0.86, SD = 4.55 mmHg; NCT B: r = 0.89, SD = 3.26 mmHg). We conclude that the three tonometers tested (one based on the Mackay-Marg principle and the other two on the non-contact principle) are not suitable for clinical and scientific use.