Li Yan, Zhu Jiang, Chen Jason J, Yu Junxiao, Jin Zi, Miao Yusi, Browne Andrew W, Zhou Qifa, Chen Zhongping
Beckman Laser Institute, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, California 92612, USA.
Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, California 92617, USA.
APL Photonics. 2019 Oct;4(10). doi: 10.1063/1.5118258. Epub 2019 Oct 8.
The crystalline lens and cornea comprise the eye's optical system for focusing light in human vision. The changes in biomechanical properties of the lens and cornea are closely associated with common diseases, including presbyopia and cataract. Currently, most elasticity studies of the anterior eye focus on the measurement of the cornea, while lens measurement remains challenging. To better understand the anterior segment of the eye, we developed an optical coherence elastography system utilizing acoustic radiation force excitation to simultaneously assess the elasticities of the crystalline lens and the cornea . A swept light source was integrated into the system to provide an enhanced imaging range that covers both the lens and the cornea. Additionally, the oblique imaging approach combined with orthogonal excitation also improved the image quality. The system was tested through first and then experiments using a rabbit model. The elasticities of corneal and lens tissue in an excised normal whole-globe and a cold cataract model were measured to reveal that cataractous lenses have a higher Young's modulus. Simultaneous elasticity measurements of the lens and cornea were performed in a rabbit model to demonstrate the correlations between elasticity and intraocular pressure and between elasticity and age. To the best of our knowledge, we demonstrated the first elasticity of imaging of both the lens and cornea using acoustic radiation force-optical coherence elastography, thereby providing a potential powerful clinical tool to advance ophthalmic research in disorders affecting the lens and the cornea.
晶状体和角膜构成了人眼视觉中聚焦光线的光学系统。晶状体和角膜生物力学特性的变化与老花眼和白内障等常见疾病密切相关。目前，大多数眼前段弹性研究集中在角膜测量上，而晶状体测量仍然具有挑战性。为了更好地了解眼前段，我们开发了一种光学相干弹性成像系统，利用声辐射力激发同时评估晶状体和角膜的弹性。系统中集成了扫频光源，以提供覆盖晶状体和角膜的增强成像范围。此外，斜向成像方法与正交激发相结合也提高了图像质量。该系统首先通过使用兔模型进行实验进行测试，然后进行实验。测量了切除的正常全眼球和冷白内障模型中角膜和晶状体组织的弹性，以揭示白内障晶状体具有更高的杨氏模量。在兔模型中对晶状体和角膜进行了同步弹性测量，以证明弹性与眼压之间以及弹性与年龄之间的相关性。据我们所知，我们首次使用声辐射力 - 光学相干弹性成像展示了晶状体和角膜的弹性成像，从而提供了一种潜在的强大临床工具，以推进对影响晶状体和角膜的疾病的眼科研究。
