Abstract
Several refractive and therapeutic treatments as well as several ocular or systemic diseases might induce changes in the mechanical resistance of the cornea. Furthermore, intraocular pressure measurement, one of the most used clinical tools, is also highly dependent on this characteristic. Corneal biomechanical properties can be measured now in the clinical setting with different instruments. In the present work, we review the potential role of the biomechanical properties of the cornea in different fields of ophthalmology and visual science in light of the definitions of the fundamental properties of matter and the results obtained from the different instruments available. The body of literature published so far provides an insight into how the corneal mechanical properties change in different sight-threatening ocular conditions and after different surgical procedures. The future in this field is very promising with several new technologies being applied to the analysis of the corneal biomechanical properties.
Highlights
Corneal biomechanics is a branch of science that studies deformation and equilibrium of corneal tissue under the application of any force [1]
The aim of the present review is to provide an overview of published results on corneal biomechanics obtained with ORA under different ocular and systemic conditions
Several studies have investigated the clinical relevance of the new waveform parameters and reported that they could be more useful in diagnosis and prognosis after refractive surgery, and as stated some of these parameters seem to be promising as being more sensitive than others to detect corneal changes in specific corneal conditions [28, 33,34,35,36]
Summary
Corneal biomechanics is a branch of science that studies deformation and equilibrium of corneal tissue under the application of any force [1]. Collagen and elastin are responsible for the strength and elasticity of a tissue, while the ground substance is responsible for the viscoelastic properties. All these terms are important because the cornea is considered a viscoelastic material and some devices try to measure and even differentiate between the different components of the biomechanical behavior of the living corneal tissue [3]. New technologies under development will be discussed briefly since there is currently a wide range of instrumentation under development to provide a better understanding of the biomechanical nature of the cornea and its implications in visual care, with particular relevance to the detection and management of sight-threatening conditions
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