Clinical Application Of Brillouin Spectroscopy To Evaluate The Corneal Bioelasticity In Patients With Low Grade Topographic Irregularity

To investigate the biomechanical properties in vivo of patients with low grade topographic irregularity who are candidates for laser vision correction as additional eligibility criterion.

Resbiomed Sofia Eye Clinic, Sofia, Bulgaria

Comprehensive anterior segment ophthalmic examination was performed with CASIA 2 OCT that includes corneal thickness, curvatures and epithelium map. Corneal bioelasticity was measured with the Brillouin Optical Scanner System (BOSS™) with decreased speed of measurement in Z-direction to achieve more data points.

The area of corneal topographic irregularity shows significant decrease in elasticity similar to values measured in mild keratoconus (≤2.8 GPa)

The biomechanical properties of the corneal tissue are related to ocular diseases and the therapeutic procedures. The current standards of corneal diagnosis and therapeutic follow-up is structural analysis, by pachymetry and tomography to measure corneal thickness and curvature, whereas the genesis of their alterations lies in the compromised corneal biomechanical properties. Brillouin microscopy is a novel optical technology that enables three-dimensional imaging of the mechanical properties of the corneal tissue that gives a multiple point’s structural data of the bioelasticity of the cornea. The results must be considered in the eligibility process for patients to undergo laser vision correction.