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Burchardt’s ophthalmoscope of 1883 is a “non-luminous” instrument derived from the Loring style of ophthalmoscope, featuring two overlapping rotating lens wheels that represent a significant innovation in the convenience and versatility of retinal examination. The main disc carries larger lenses with powers ranging from minus 1 to minus 9 diopters, while the smaller combination disc provides powers of minus 10, minus 20, minus 50, plus 10, and plus 20 diopters — together offering a continuous, natural progression of corrective lenses that made examination far more convenient than the disconnected individual lenses of earlier instruments. A rectangular plane mirror with a central opening can be rotated into position on either the left or right side, accommodating both right and left-handed examiners.
Max Burchardt (1831–1897) led a remarkable life before developing this instrument. Born in Pomerania between Poland and Germany on the Baltic Sea, he studied at the Friedrich-Wilhelms-Institut in Berlin in 1851, obtained his doctorate in 1855, and passed the state examination in 1857. He served as a military medical officer, including as captain of the medical corps at Charité, and worked through the Franco-Prussian War as a military doctor. In 1880 he was appointed professor at the University of Berlin and retired from the military as a brigadier general in 1890, dying of lung inflammation in 1897. He published significant works on ophthalmoscopic examination, vision testing, treatment of infectious conjunctivitis, and other topics.
The lenses of this instrument are mounted on two discs with separate centers of rotation. The lower larger disc — 40 mm in diameter — carries 9 concave lenses in steps of one diopter from minus 1 to minus 9. The upper combination disc carries 5 lenses of 10 mm diameter: minus 0.5, minus 10, minus 20, plus 10, and plus 20 diopters. Each lens is 8.5 mm in diameter, and the overall design reflects Burchardt’s stated purpose of providing a continuous, convenient series of corrective lenses in a single compact instrument.
