SELF-TONOMETRY UNDER MICROGRAVITY CONDITIONS

During a space mission flown in microgravity early changes in intraocu lar pressure due to the fluid shift effect in microgravity were analyz ed with an automatic self-tonometer. In total, 13 pressure readings pe r eye were obtained during the mission. The first pressure readings 16 min after reaching microgravity revealed a 92% rise in intraocular pr essure compared to the daytime-correlated baseline data on earth follo wed by an adaptation phase lasting for several hours. Diurnal pressure profiles during the mission showed no relevant difference in altitude and amplitude.