Determining in vivo biomechanical properties of the cornea with an ocular response analyzer.

PURPOSE

To study the results of an ocular response analyzer (ORA) to determine the biomechanical properties of the cornea and their relationship to intraocular pressure (IOP).

SETTING

Reichert Inc., Depew, New York, USA.

METHODS

The ORA (Reichert) makes 2 essentially instantaneous applanation measurements that permit determination of corneal and IOP effects.

RESULTS

Measurements of several populations indicate that corneal hysteresis, a biomechanical measure, varied over a dynamic range of 1.8 to 14.6 mm Hg and was only weakly correlated with corneal thickness (r(2)=0.12); this is related to the observation that some subjects with relatively thick corneas have less-than-average corneal hysteresis. Corneal hysteresis changes diurnally, presumably as a result of hydration changes. Keratoconus, Fuchs' dystrophy, and post-LASIK patients demonstrated low corneal hysteresis.

CONCLUSION

The corneal hysteresis biomechanical measure may prove valuable for qualification and predictions of outcomes of refractive surgery and in other cases in which corneal biomechanics are important.