Spatial Corneal Biomechanical Mapping via OCT
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current corneal biomechanical measurement techniques fail to provide spatially-resolved corneal biomechanical information, despite the cornea's complex viscoelastic properties and non-uniform composition.
Innovation Solution
An OCT system is used to determine multiple measurement locations on the cornea, where a mechanical excitation is applied and temporal OCT data is acquired to generate temporal deformation data and subsequently biomechanical data for the cornea.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If current corneal biomechanical measurement techniques are used, then measurement simplicity is maintained, but spatially-resolved corneal biomechanical information is not provided
Solution Approach 1:
The cornea is divided into multiple measurement locations across a grid pattern, with each location independently measured for biomechanical properties. This segmentation enables spatially-resolved information by treating each location as a separate measurement unit while maintaining overall system coherence through standardized measurement protocols at each point.
Solution Approach 2:
The measurement system transitions from providing only average corneal biomechanical values to delivering two-dimensional spatial maps of biomechanical properties. By adding the spatial dimension (x, y coordinates across the cornea) to the traditional single-value measurement, the system achieves spatially-resolved information without fundamentally changing the core measurement technique.
2Measurement precision
If mechanical excitation is applied to measure corneal response, then biomechanical property measurement is enabled, but measurement time increases due to temporal data acquisition requirements
Solution Approach 1:
A periodic mechanical excitation (air puff) is applied to the cornea, inducing oscillatory motion that can be characterized through frequency-domain analysis. By using periodic rather than impulsive excitation, the system can extract biomechanical properties from the steady-state response, enabling more efficient temporal sampling and reducing total measurement time while maintaining precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary calibration and baseline measurements before the actual biomechanical assessment. Temporal OCT data acquisition is synchronized with the mechanical excitation timing, allowing pre-positioning of measurement parameters and real-time adaptive sampling that reduces unnecessary data collection and accelerates the measurement process.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach enables the spatial mapping of corneal biomechanical properties, identifying strong and weak regions, measuring large and small deformations, and providing sub-micron resolution for both healthy and diseased corneas, improving diagnosis and treatment planning.
Implementation Method 1
measures the interference between a portion of the original coherent light beam and the scattered light reflected back to the OCT system from a particular location on (or within) the biological tissue
Implementation Method 2
the scattered light reflected back to the OCT system from a particular location on (or within) the biological tissue
Implementation Method 3
The cornea has complex viscoelastic biomechanical properties, which means that the cornea exhibits both viscous and elastic behavior when deformed
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods for measuring corneal biomechanical properties are provided. In certain embodiments, a method comprises determining a plurality of optical coherence tomography (OCT) measurement locations in a region of a cornea; for each OCT measurement location: applying a mechanical excitation to the cornea at the OCT measurement location, and measuring a response of the cornea to the mechanical excitation by acquiring temporal OCT data at the OCT measurement location; generating temporal deformation data for the region of the cornea based on the temporal OCT data at each OCT measurement location; and generating biomechanical data for the region of the cornea based on the temporal deformation data.