Alvar Gullstrand was born in Sweden in 1862. His father was a well-known physician. Alvar Gullstrand studied medicine in Upsala, Vienna and Stockholm. He focused his studies on dioptrics, meaning the study of the human eye as a transparent system of lenses for the collection and refraction of light.
Gullstrand made many contributions to Opthalmology. He studied astigmatism using cylindrical lenses. Gullstrand also developed a photographic technique for measuring the degree of corneal astigmatism. This research led to the design of more successful corrective lenses. Gullstrand improved upon several optical instruments including the ophthalmoscope. Gullstrand won the Nobel prize in 1911 for his work on the dioptrics of the eye.
