Hans Goldmann: the legacy of a giant

Excerpt

Hans Goldmann Fig. 1 will be remembered as one of the great scientists of the 20th century. Over and above his expertise in the field of ophthalmology, he was a virtuoso of a considerable number of sciences, an inventor and an achiever. He also had the quality of being competent in basic research while keeping an open mind for the practical needs of the ophthalmic profession. Both Gullstrand and Koeppe made important contributions to ophthalmology, such as the slitlamp and diagnostic contact lenses. However, both Goldmann’s slitlamp and his contact lenses were not only optically perfect but also easy to use. This opened the door to the exploration of both the chamber angle and the anterior and the posterior segments of the eye. His apparatus for fluorimetry enabled him to measure the minute flow of the anterior chamber fluid years before others had done so. His measurements of the outflow resistance and the identification of the basic mechanisms of the primary glaucoma are classical. The knowledge he gathered as assistant to Czermak von Seysenegg, Head of the Institute of Physiology of the German Charles University of Prague, certainly helped and stimulated him in designing both his adaptometer and his colorimeter. His applanation tonometer was a pioneering invention, and was the first instrument to measure the intraocular pressure correctly. It is fair to say that it saved a very large number of glaucomatous eyes which – without his instrument – would have been diagnosed as normal. The many other achievements of this gifted scientist place him undoubtably among the league of great scientists of the 20th century.

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