Acoustic characteristics of the eye lens

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to characterize the eye lens (human and porcine) by acoustic measurements and to investigate whether relations exist with the local protein content. The acoustic measurements were performed with a ‘scanning acoustic microscope’ (SAM), operating at a frequency of 20 MHz. At this frequency the lateral resolution in the acoustic images was 150 mm. A double-transmission pulse-echo technique was employed to obtain acoustic parameter images of a central, 1-mm thick slice of the lenses. The two-dimensional images were derived by ultrasonic spectroscopy displaying the ultrasound velocity, the attenuation at 20 MHz and the slope of the attenuation coefficient between 17 and 213 MHz. The images were summarized by profiles along the optical and equatorial axes of these parameters.