Model for the Heat Transmission in the Human Eye

Abstract

Currently, most refractive surgery on the cornea is done by minimally invasive laser methods. Developing or improving new methods in laser medicine often is accompanied by theoretical modeling of the heat transmission in the human eye. The purpose of this study is to develop a mathematical model of the human eye based on the heat transfer equation. The intraocular temperature distribution is calculated using the finite volume method. The development of an accurate model of the human eye is difficult due to the lack of reliable biological data available on the constants and parameters that are used in the model. The different values for the parameters reported in the literature are employed in the model. The sensitivity of the temperature distribution to uncertainties in the parameters is investigated. The ambient temperature and blood flow rate lead to significant changes in the temperature in the anterior regions. In addition, remarkable effect is observed from the variation of the thermal conductivity of lens and blood temperature.