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Measuring mechanical anisotropy of the cornea with Brillouin microscopy

Author

Listed:
  • Amira M. Eltony

    (Massachusetts General Hospital)

  • Peng Shao

    (Massachusetts General Hospital
    Reveal Surgical Inc.)

  • Seok-Hyun Yun

    (Massachusetts General Hospital
    Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology)

Abstract

Load-bearing tissues are typically fortified by networks of protein fibers, often with preferential orientations. This fiber structure imparts the tissues with direction-dependent mechanical properties optimized to support specific external loads. To accurately model and predict tissues’ mechanical response, it is essential to characterize the anisotropy on a microstructural scale. Previously, it has been difficult to measure the mechanical properties of intact tissues noninvasively. Here, we use Brillouin optical microscopy to visualize and quantify the anisotropic mechanical properties of corneal tissues at different length scales. We derive the stiffness tensor for a lamellar network of collagen fibrils and use angle-resolved Brillouin measurements to determine the longitudinal stiffness coefficients (longitudinal moduli) describing the ex vivo porcine cornea as a transverse isotropic material. Lastly, we observe significant mechanical anisotropy of the human cornea in vivo, highlighting the potential for clinical applications of off-axis Brillouin microscopy.

Suggested Citation

  • Amira M. Eltony & Peng Shao & Seok-Hyun Yun, 2022. "Measuring mechanical anisotropy of the cornea with Brillouin microscopy," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-11, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:13:y:2022:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-022-29038-5
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-29038-5
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    1. P. Martins & E. Peña & B. Calvo & M. Doblaré & T. Mascarenhas & R. Natal Jorge & A. Ferreira, 2010. "Prediction of nonlinear elastic behaviour of vaginal tissue: experimental results and model formulation," Computer Methods in Biomechanics and Biomedical Engineering, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 13(3), pages 327-337.
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