Chow Bing Jie, Liu Chang, Yu Mingyi, Xin Yu Lee Isabelle, Mehta Jodhbir S, Wu Qing Yang Steve, Wong Kay Ting Regina, Lin Ke, Liu Yu-Chi
Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London, London E1 2AD, UK.
Tissue Engineering and Cell Therapy Group, Singapore Eye Research Institute, Singapore 169856, Singapore.
Bioengineering (Basel). 2025 Jan 8;12(1):45. doi: 10.3390/bioengineering12010045.
Terahertz (THz) waves reside in the electromagnetic spectrum between the microwave and infrared bands. In recent decades, THz technology has demonstrated its potential for biomedical applications. With the highly unique characteristics of THz waves, such as the high sensitivity to water and optimal spatial resolution coupled with the characteristics of the human cornea, such as its high water content, THz technology has been explored as a potential modality to assess corneas and corneal diseases. This systematic review provides an overview of the characteristics of THz waves, the safety profile of THz technology in the field of ophthalmology, and its clinical applications, including the objective evaluation of the corneal hydration, tear film, dry eye disease, corneal endothelium, corneal elasticity, and scarring. The paper also presents our viewpoint on the present challenges and future directions of THz technology prior to its broader integration into clinical practice.
太赫兹（THz）波位于微波和红外波段之间的电磁波谱中。近几十年来，太赫兹技术已展现出其在生物医学应用方面的潜力。由于太赫兹波具有高度独特的特性，如对水的高敏感性和最佳空间分辨率，再结合人类角膜的特性，如其高含水量，太赫兹技术已被探索作为一种评估角膜和角膜疾病的潜在方式。本系统综述概述了太赫兹波的特性、太赫兹技术在眼科领域的安全性概况及其临床应用，包括对角膜水化、泪膜、干眼症、角膜内皮、角膜弹性和瘢痕形成的客观评估。本文还就太赫兹技术在更广泛地融入临床实践之前目前面临的挑战和未来方向提出了我们的观点。
