Combination of acoustic radiation force impulse technique and optical coherence tomography to measure elastic properties of the crystalline lens as a function of intraocular pressure

Elastic properties of the ocular tissues are significantly affected by intraocular pressure (IOP) in the eye. For example, the speed of the elastic wave in the cornea dramatically increases with IOP. In our previous studies using ultrasound shear wave imaging we demonstrated that, for the lens, the increase in IOP does not result significant changes in the wave velocity. Compared with ultrasound imaging, optical coherence tomography (OCT) provides advantage in both spatial resolution and signal-to-noise ratio. Previously, we developed a combined acoustic radiation force impulse (ARFI) and OCT approach where the acoustic radiation force is applied to the anterior surface of the crystalline lens, while displacement of the lens surface is measured using phase-sensitive optical coherence tomography (OCT) system. In this study, we utilized a combine ARFI/OCT system to investigate the influence of IOP on the biomechanical properties of porcine crystalline lenses ex vivo.