Abstract
The knowledge of water content of the cornea (hydration level H) can provide crucial information for the assessment of corneal function. The correlation between the corneal thickness and its hydration enables us to estimate H indirectly by measuring changes in corneal thickness and scattering using OCT. The magnitude and axial distribution of the backscattering signal from the cornea yields additional information about the hydration gradient across the cornea. We present data on the effect of corneal hydration on its thickness and scattering in natural processes of de- and rehydration, as well as in stress tests with the use of glycerol-based dehydrating agent Ophthalgan. Our data demonstrate that scattering signal changes up to 50 times when corneal thickness varies from 60% to 200% of its normal state. The distribution of scattering intensity across the cornea also depends on the hydration level and gradient of the water distribution. Thus, OCT can provide a noninvasive and non-contact method for safe and fast measurement of thickness and optical properties of the cornea, and therefore, for estimation of corneal hydration level and corneal function.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 295-298 |
| Number of pages | 4 |
| Journal | Proceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering |
| Volume | 4956 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 2003 |
| Event | PROGRESS IN BIOMEDICAL OPTICS AND IMAGING: Coherence Domain Optical Methods and Optical Coherence Tomography in Biomedicine VII - San Jose, CA, United States Duration: Jan 27 2003 → Jan 29 2003 |
Keywords
- Corneal hydration
- Corneal thickness
- Noninvasive monitoring
- OCT
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials
- Condensed Matter Physics
- Computer Science Applications
- Applied Mathematics
- Electrical and Electronic Engineering