Corneal Biomechanical Properties Measured With Brillouin Scanning

To assess the corneal biomechanical properties of healthy individuals at different ages and keratoconus patients, and to relate this to to the corneal thickness and other aspects of the corneal configuration.

Department of Clinical Sciences/Ophthalmology, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden.

This ongoing study involves healthy individuals between 10 and 45 years of age and keratoconus patients planned för corneal crosslinking between 18 and 35 years of age. Best corrected visual acuity, Pentacam Scheimpflug tomography (Oculus, Inc.) and anterior segment optical coherence tomography (AS-OCT; Casia2; Tomey, Inc.) measurements are performed in both eyes, and the corneal biomechanical properties are measured at 10 points in each cornea using the Brillouin Optical Scanner System (BOSS; Intelon Optics, Inc.). 

The results show the differences in corneal biomechanical properties at different ages of healthy individuals and relate these values to the corresponding values in keratoconus. The biomechanical properties of the cornea is also related to the corneal morphological properties (thickness and curvature).

The biomechanical properties of the cornea change with increasing age, and the cornea shows a reduced biomechanical stability in keratokonus. There is no direct relationship between the biomechanics of a cornea and its configuration. This demonstrates the importance of also taking the biomechanical properties of the cornea into account in the planning of, for example, corneal crosslinking in keratoconus or refractive surgery.