Q. Who invented the non-contact tonometer?

Answer

Erich Zeiss, the grandson of Carl Zeiss and a German ophthalmologist, is credited with being the first person to discover non-contact tonometry. In 1951, he came up with the idea for a "pneumatic" tonometer, sometimes known as a "aerotonometer." An application for a patent was written up but, unfortunately, it was never submitted to the Patent Office.