Relation between injected volume and optical parameters in refilled isolated porcine lenses

PURPOSE: This study was performed to elucidate the correlation between added lens refill material and enhanced lens power as well as the correlation between lens refilling volume and accommodative amplitude as determined by equatorial stretching of ex vivo refilled pigs' lenses. METHODS: Nine porcine lenses were refilled with increasing amounts of silicone oil. After each refill step, the lens power, the lens power change, and the lens thickness were measured both in the relaxed state and with a 3-mm larger ciliary body diameter. In addition, the spherical aberration of the refilled lenses was also quantified. RESULTS: Injection of 0.04 mL silicone material into the relaxed lens enhanced the lens power by 1 D. A 0.54-mm increase of the lens thickness in relaxed lenses added 1 D to the lens power. Increasing the lens refilling volume decreased the lens power changes measured at 3-mm ciliary body stretch. Spherical aberration was positive in the refilled lenses and increased with increasing lens refilling volume. CONCLUSION: The correlation found between the refilling volume and the lens power (0.04 mL D(-1)), as well as the correlation between the lens thickness and the lens power (0.54 mm D(-1)), might be important factors to be controlled in conjunction with surgery, as these also determine the lens power in the presence of this refill material. An increasing lens filling volume is associated with decreasing accommodative amplitude. The positive spherical aberration of refilled porcine lenses presents a sharp contrast to the negative aberration of natural pigs' lenses. Different lens contours and the transition from a gradient to a homogeneous refractive index might be responsible for this change in spherical aberration.     

Polymer refilling of presbyopic human lenses in vitro restores the ability to undergo accommodative changes

PURPOSE: Because presbyopia is thought to be accompanied by increased lens sclerosis this study was conducted to investigate whether refilling the capsule of the presbyopic human lens with a soft polymer would restore the ability of the lens to undergo accommodative changes. METHODS: Accommodative forces were applied to natural and refilled lenses by circumferential stretching through the ciliary body and zonular complex. Nine natural lenses and 10 refilled lenses from donors ranging in age from 17 to 60 years were studied. Two refill polymers with a different Young's modulus were used. The lens power was measured by a scanning laser ray-tracing technique, and lens diameter and lens thickness were measured simultaneously while the tension on the zonules was increased stepwise by outward pull on the ciliary body. RESULTS: In the natural lenses the older lenses were not able to undergo power changes with stretching of the ciliary body, whereas in the refilled lenses, all lenses showed power changes comparable to young, natural lenses. The refilled human lenses had a higher lens power than the age-matched natural lenses. The Young's modulus of the polymers influenced the lens power change when measured with the ciliary body diameter increased by 4 mm. CONCLUSIONS: Refilling presbyopic lenses with a soft polymer enabled restoration of lens power changes with mechanical stretching. Because sclerosis of the lens is an important factor in human presbyopia, refilling the lens during lens surgery for cataract could enable restoration of clear vision and accommodation in human presbyopia.     

Dynamic multi-arm radial lens stretcher: a robotic analog of the ciliary body

We developed a dynamic lens stretching device to quantitatively determine the relationships between force, equatorial displacement, and anterior curvature. A computer-controlled four-arm lens stretcher, equipped with real-time force transducers in each arm, was designed and constructed to obtain transient force measurements during lens stretching. The force-decay spectrum was fitted with a seven-parameter viscoelastic model characterized by three time constants. A corneal topography unit was used to measure the curvature of fresh porcine lenses ex vivo and in vitro in a four-arm lens stretcher at various equatorial displacements. The lens stretcher and corneal topography unit provided detailed information regarding the behavior of the porcine lens in vitro. For all lenses, the central portion of the anterior surface flattened as zonular force increased. Force increased nonlinearly with equatorial displacement. Relaxation time constants for accommodation were 34.5+/-12.2 ms, 310+/-122 ms, and 12,800+/-9490 ms. Time constants for disaccommodation were 34.9+/-4.7 ms, 291+/-79.1 ms, and 3400+/-775 ms, which were not statistically different from those measured for accommodation. The lens stretcher acts as a robotic analog of the ciliary body. This device allows direct, quantitative measurement of the forces and curvature changes relevant to accommodation. However, distortions were present due to the use of only four arms.     

Interaction between mechanical and osmotic forces in the isolated rabbit lens

Based on our previous work showing that cow and rabbit lenses isolated with their accommodation anatomical components intact change volume during simulated accommodation in vitro, and that hyposmolality and hyperosmolality also produce volume changes, we tested the idea that exerting these forces simultaneously may add or counteract each other. Further, we attempted to find a point at which osmotic and mechanical forces may cancel each other. Using previously described methodology, we found that combined stretching and anisotonic conditions applied to a lens always produced less of a volume change than that observed on its paired lens from the fellow eye that was only subjected to anisotonic conditions. Our results suggest that a stretching force that increases the equatorial diameter by 0.4% and reduces the lens volume by 1.8% could be canceled by a hyposmotic force of about −20 to −30 mOsM. Counter-intuitively, lenses that were subjected to stretching and hyperosmolality had less volume decrease than their paired lenses only exposed to hypertonicity. This latter observation is likely due to the prevention by the mechanical stretching forces of the shortening of the equatorial diameter, which normally occurs in hypertonic media.     

Internal deformation of the human crystalline lens during accommodation

Purpose: To describe the internal deformations in the crystalline lens that occur during accommodation. Methods: A computer‐based mechanical model of accommodation was created using the finite element method. The lens geometry of the model was based on in vivo measurements of human lenses in the accommodated state. The mechanical properties of the lens were based on ex vivo measurements of human lenses. To achieve a state of disaccommodation, the lens equator was stretched by 7%. The internal strains and displacements were calculated for a young accommodating lens, a lens of pre‐presbyopic age and a lens of presbyopic age (20, 40 and 60 years old, respectively). Results: The model showed that the radial strain was maximal in the nucleus for the young accommodating lens and minimal in the nucleus for the oldest non‐accommodating lens. In the young lens the deformations occurred throughout the entire lens, whereas in the older non‐accommodating lens the deformations were concentrated in the equatorial region. Conclusions: The model predicted that during accommodation, changes in lens thickness are mainly caused by deformation of the nucleus. In the older, non‐accommodating lens, the deformations occur predominantly in the equatorial region and do not affect the central curvatures of the lens.     

激光老视术后调节的双因素理论

目的 :对于“激光老视治疗”的临床结果及基于弹性改变假说及晶状体前移及晶状体松弛模式的眼调节机制进行分析。方法 :根据光在模型眼中的传导原理 ,导出了总屈光力因晶状体与角膜屈光力、前房深度、眼轴长度及折射率而改变的函数。使用晶状体伸张及调节实验值导出与总屈光力变化相关的眼参数的实验方程。激光术后调节幅度使用林氏动态模型进行描述 ,此模型含晶状体的前移及松弛两个分量。同时提出林氏 卡达假说 ,认为术后调节改变及低回退率来自于巩膜 睫状肌弹性的增加。结果 :调节 (AA)幅度大约为晶状体屈光力改变的 73%～ 76 % ,并且与睫状体的收缩及晶状体厚度增加呈非线性变化。我们提出对于 2 .0D的调节可由晶状体松弛 (LR)或前移 (AS)或LR及AS两者组合而达到。对于硬化的老年晶状体 ,AS是主要因素。结论 :激光老视治疗 (LAPP)的临床结果可由光在眼球的传导方式计算及由弹性改变假说和包含晶状体前移和松弛的动态模型的调节机制来分析 ,其中动态模式包含晶状体前移及松弛两个因素。     

The mechanism of presbyopia

Accommodation in humans refers to the ability of the lens to change shape in order to bring near objects into focus. Accommodative loss begins during childhood, with symptomatic presbyopia, or presbyopia that affects one's day to day activities, striking during midlife. While symptomatic presbyopia has traditionally been treated with reading glasses or contact lenses, a number of surgical interventions and devices are being actively developed in an attempt to restore at least some level of accommodation. This is occurring at a time when the underlying cause of presbyopia remains unknown, and even the mechanism of accommodation is occasionally debated. While Helmholtz' theory regarding the mechanism of accommodation is generally accepted with regard to broad issues, additional details continue to emerge. Age-related changes in anterior segment structures associated with accommodation have been documented, often through in vitro and/or rhesus monkey studies. A review of these findings suggests that presbyopia develops very differently in humans compared to non-human primates. Focusing on non-invasive in vivo human imaging technologies, including Scheimpflug photography and high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), the data suggest that the human uveal tract acts as a unit in response to age-related increasing lens thickness and strongly implicates lifelong lens growth as the causal factor in the development of presbyopia.     

Mapping age-related elasticity changes in porcine lenses using bubble-based acoustic radiation force

Bubble-based acoustic radiation force aims to measure highly localized tissue viscoelastic properties. In the current investigation, acoustic radiation force was applied to laser-induced bubbles to measure age-related changes in the spatial distribution of elastic properties within in vitro porcine lenses. A potential in vivo technique to map lens elasticity is crucial to understanding the onset of presbyopia and develop new treatment options. Bubble-based acoustic radiation force was investigated as a technique to measure the spatial elasticity distribution of the lens in its natural state without disrupting the lens capsule. Laser-induced optical breakdown (LIOB) generated microbubbles in a straight line across the equatorial plane of explanted porcine lenses with 1mm lateral spacing. Optical breakdown occurs when sufficiently high threshold fluence is attained at the focus of femtosecond pulsed lasers, inducing plasma formation and bubble generation. A two-element confocal ultrasonic transducer applied 6.5 ms acoustic radiation force-chirp bursts with the 1.5 MHz outer element while monitoring bubble position within the lens using pulse-echoes with the 7.44 MHz inner element. A cross-correlation method was used to measure bubble displacements and determine exponential time constants of the temporal responses. Maximum bubble displacements are inversely proportional to the local Young's modulus, while time constants are indicative of viscoelastic properties. The apparent spatial elasticity distributions in 41 porcine lenses, ranging from 4 months to 5 years in age, were measured using bubble-based acoustic radiation force. Bubble displacements decrease closer to the porcine lens center, suggesting that the nucleus is stiffer than the cortex. Bubble displacements decrease with increasing lens age, suggesting that porcine lenses become stiffer with age. Bubble-based acoustic radiation force may be well-suited as a potential in vivo technique to spatially map elastic properties of the lens and guide therapeutic procedures aimed at restoring accommodation.     

Objective evaluation of the changes in the crystalline lens during accommodation in young and presbyopic populations using Pentacam HR system

AIM: To quantify the changes in the lens profile with accommodation in different age groups. METHODS: The Pentacam HR system was used to obtain the images of the anterior eye segment from 23 young and 15 presbyopic emmetropic subjects in unaccommodated (with an accommodation stimulus of 0.0D) and accommodated (with an accommodation stimulus of 5.0D for the young group and 1.0D for the presbyopic group) states. The phakic crystalline lens shape, including curvature of crystalline lens and central lens thickness (CLT), and the measurements of anterior segment length (ASL), central anterior chamber depth (CACD) were investigated. The anterior chamber volume (ACV) was also measured. RESULTS: The reduction of CACD and ACV were significant in both groups after accommodation stimulus. From the profile of anterior eye segment, a significant decrease in anterior crystalline lens radii of curvature (-2.52mm) and a mean increase in CLT (0.222mm) and ASL (0.108mm) were found in the young group with an accommodation stimulus of 5.0D. However, no statistically significant changes of CLT, ASL, or crystalline lens radii of curvature were found in the presbyopic group. CONCLUSION: Our data showed that the shallowing of anterior chamber during accommodation was caused by the forward bulging of the anterior lens surface, rather than by anterior shifting of lens position in either young or presbyopic subjects.     

Changes in rabbit and cow lens shape and volume upon imposition of anisotonic conditions

In vivo, mammalian lenses have the capacity to effect fully reversible changes in shape, and possibly volume, during the accommodation process. Isolated lenses also change shape by readily swelling or shrinking when placed in anisotonic media. However, the manner by which the lens changes its shape when its volume is changed osmotically is not firmly established. Putatively, the lens could swell or shrink evenly in all directions, or manifest distinctive swelling and/or shrinking patterns when exposed to anisotonic media. The present study measured physical changes in lenses consistent with the latter alternative using methods we developed for determining rapid changes in lens shape and volume. It was found in isolated rabbit and cow lenses that the length of the axis between the anterior and posterior poles (A-P length) primarily increases under hypotonic conditions (−40 to −100 mOsM), with smaller, or no changes, in equatorial diameter (ED). Hypertonic conditions (+50 to +100 mOsM) on rabbit lenses elicited a predominant reduction in ED, while the A-P length was only marginally reduced. Hypertonic solutions of +150 mOsM were required to obtain similar changes in cow lens shape. The ratio of the A-P length to the ED was taken as a measure of “circularity”. This ratio increased gradually in rabbit and cow lenses bathed in hypotonic solutions because of the increase in the A-P length. The calculated lens volume increased in tandem with the increase in “circularity”. Lens circularity also increased under hypertonic conditions due to the decrease in ED, but this increase in circularity during shrinkage was not as pronounced as that which occurred during swelling. As such, the lens has a tendency upon swelling to change its shape by approaching the structure of a globular spheroid (as occurs during accommodation for near focusing), but lens shrinkage does not result in a flatter lens with a reduced A-P length as occurs during dis-accommodation for distance focusing. Moreover, osmotically evoked shape changes appear irreversible, in contrast to the mechanically elicited shape changes of accommodation.     

老视理论及治疗进展

老视是一种常见的眼部退行性病变,表现为年龄相关性调节力下降,它影响到每一个老年人。随着全新的Schachar调节理论的提出以及传统理论的发展,近年来出现了多种老视治疗方法。目前除了通过各种框架眼镜和接角镜来矫正老视,还可以应用手术方法如前睫状区巩膜切开样(AGS)以及巩膜扩张(SRP)来恢复调节能力。采用人工晶状体植入形成单眼视,多焦点人工晶状体,可调节型人工晶状体,LASIK手术也都是可行的老视治疗措施。本文总结了目前有关老视的各种机制和治疗方法。     

老視理論及治療進展

老視是一種常見的眼部退行性病燮,表現為年齡相關性調節力下降,它影響到每一個老年人.隨着全新的Schachar調節理論的提出以及傳統理論的發展,近年來出現了多種老視治瘵方法.目前除了通過各種框架眼鏡和接觸鏡來矯正老視,還可以應用手術方法如前睫狀區鞏膜切開術(ACS)以及鞏膜擴張(SRP)來恢復調節能力.采用人工晶狀體植入形成單眼視,多焦黠人工晶狀體,可調節型人工晶狀體,LASIK手術也都是可行的老視治瘵措施.本文總結了目前有關老視的各種機制和治瘵方法.     

Mouse lens stiffness measurements

Presbyopia is a gradual loss of accommodation with age. Various studies have shown that an age-related increase in lens stiffness may be one factor involved. Lens stiffness has previously been measured using lens spinning experiments, resistance to conical probe penetration and dynamic mechanical analysis. In the current study, two different techniques have been used to evaluate the stiffness of isolated mouse lenses. In the first method, compressive forces were applied to mouse lenses using microscope cover-slips to exert incremental forces on the lens. Lens images were captured for analysis of change in diameter. In the second method, a fully automated squeezer system with an actuator, electronic scale and a CCD camera was used to apply incremental compressive forces to the lenses. The actuator exerted forces comparable to those exerted by cover-slips. Force and actuator displacement data together with images of the lenses as they were compressed were captured. Images were analyzed for change in lens diameter on application of force and also with actuator displacement. Lenses from 19 young male mice (4-weeks old) and 28 male retired breeders (7-9 months old) were tested. Lenses were used immediately after sacrificing the mice and extracting the lenses. The lenses from the older male mice were stiffer compared to the lenses from the younger male mice. This was determined by comparing the average change in lens diameter at various force values used. The two methods provide a good indication of the stiffness properties of mouse lenses.     

Comparison of pilocarpine-induced and stimulus-driven accommodation in phakic eyes

With the recent introduction of potentially accommodative intraocular lenses (IOL), there is a need for methods to evaluate their accommodative potential. In most studies assessing IOL movement, pilocarpine is used to stimulate contraction of the ciliary muscle. The aim of this study is to determine if pilocarpine-induced ciliary muscle contraction is comparable to physiological stimulus-driven accommodation in young and presbyopic subjects. Ten emmetropic young subjects (23-25 years) and 11 emmetropic presbyopic subjects (51-62 years) were included in this study. Anterior chamber depth (ACD) and lens thickness (LT) were assessed with partial coherence interferometry (PCI). A moveable stimulus was coupled to the PCI equipment for measurement of biometric lens changes. ACD was measured with the stimulus at infinity and then at the subjects individual nearpoint, and after application of two drops of 2% pilocarpine. In young subjects, there was no significant difference in lens change between nearpoint and pilocarpine stimulation. Presbyopic subjects showed no relevant lens change when accommodating at the nearpoint, however, under pharmacologically induced ciliary muscle contraction with pilocarpine, there was a significant forward shift of the anterior and posterior lens pole, leading to a translational forward lens shift of about 150 microm. This study demonstrates that pilocarpine acts "physiologically" in young phakic subjects, but is a "superstimulus" in presbyopic phakic subjects. Therefore, IOL movement may be overestimated when using pilocarpine to stimulate accommodation.     

The aetiology of presbyopia: a summary of the role of lenticular and extralenticular structures

Presbyopia is a condition of age rather than ageing and, as such, is devolved from the lamentable situation where the normal age-related reduction in amplitude of accommodation reaches a point when the clarity of vision at near cannot be sustained for long enough to satisfy an individual's requirements. Most of our facility to accommodate has been lost by 55 years-of-age and subsequent deterioration in visual performance at near is attributable to characteristics of senescent vision familiar to the optometrist. Our understanding of the cause of presbyopia has then to be derived principally from our understanding of the mechanism of accommodation in young eyes. Hermann von Helmholtz did much to clarify these mechanisms, but despite much research in the 100 years since his death, there is still no consensus on their precise nature. This paper presents a summary of issues, past and present, which have figured in the literature on the physiology of accommodation and presbyopia, and confirms that the pathophysiology of presbyopia is likely to result from deterioration in structure and function of a number of inter-related tissues. Changes in crystalline lens dimensions with age, the associated change in geometry of zonular attachments, and changes in viscoelastic properties of the lens capsule and lens matrix would, however, appear to be the principal correlates for the onset of presbyopia. Recent models of the biomechanics of accommodation have drawn attention to the feasibility of extralenticular contributions to presbyopia and have examined properties of the elasticity and leverage provided by posterior, anterior and tensile fibre systems. The stimulus for innovation in the correction and remediation of presbyopia is strong as at least 98% of individuals from the industrialised nations will survive until 45 years-of-age; it is salutary to note that the survival rate 100 years ago was only 60%.     

近视青少年配戴角膜塑形镜前后调节参数变化

目的：:观察近视青少年配戴角膜塑形镜前后调节参数及隐斜度的变化,探讨角膜塑形镜延缓近视进展的机制及近视发病病因。方法：:回顾性研究。收集2011年1月至2019年3月在中国医科大学附属第一医院眼科门诊进行角膜塑形镜配戴前后调节参数资料完整的患者51例（102眼）,比较角膜塑形镜配戴前、配戴后1、12个月或以上的正负相对...     

老视矫正手术方法的现状和发展趋势

老视是因年龄相关性调节幅度的下降使得近阅读渐渐困难的一种生理老化现象。现阶段老视矫正的主流方式是配戴单焦框架眼镜、双焦框架眼镜和渐变多焦点眼镜。目前所有针对老视的手术方法都未能带来持久的真正生理意义上的调节改善,本文就目前各种老视矫正手术方法（包括单眼视方法的、施于角膜的、施于巩膜的与施于晶状体的）的现状与发展趋势做一综述。     

Lens fluorescence and accommodative amplitude in pre-presbyopic and presbyopic subjects

Accommodative amplitude (AA; the difference, measured in diopters, between the near and far points of vision) declines steadily with age such that, by midlife, most individuals are unable to focus clearly on near objects and, thus, are said to be presbyopic. Conversely, intrinsic lens fluorescence (LF) increases steadily with age. Previous studies have suggested that AA and LF are negatively correlated, independent of age. Were this to be the case, it might suggest that the biochemical modifications underlying increased tissue fluorescence (for example, glycation of lens proteins) contribute to presbyopia. We used quantitative techniques to re-evaluate the relationship between AA and LF in 161 healthy volunteers aged between 25 and 70. Our data confirmed that AA decreases with age, becoming essentially zero by age 55, and LF increases with age. However, in marked contrast to previous reports, statistical analysis failed to detect any correlation between LF and AA independent of age. Thus, the biochemical processes responsible for increased LF observed in the aged lens are unlikely to contribute directly to presbyopia.     

Pseudophakic accommodation with translation lenses – dual optic vs mono optic

PURPOSE: To investigate the pseudophakic accommodation effect in dual and mono optic translation accommodative intraocular lenses (AIOL) using linear matrix methods in the paraxial space. METHODS: Dual (anterior optic of power +32 D linked to a compensatory posterior optic of negative power) and mono lens power was determined in the non-accommodated state using linear geometric optics based on the Gullstrand model eye. The position of the AIOL was calculated from a regression formula. Pseudophakic accommodation was assessed with three systems: (1) forward shift of the mono optic lens, (2) anterior translation of the anterior optic in the dual optic lens system with an unchanged position of the posterior minus lens and (3) symmetrical anterior and posterior translation of the anterior and posterior lens. The Gullstrand model eye was modified by changing the axial length (and proportionally changing the phakic anterior chamber depth) to investigate the accommodative effect in myopic and hyperopic eyes. RESULTS: The dual optic lens system (2) yields a nearly constant accommodation amplitude of 2.4-2.5 D mm(-1) movement over the total range of axial lengths. The mono optic lens (1) provides a higher accommodative effect only in extremely short eyes (high refractive power of the lens), whereas for normal eyes (1.4-1.5 D mm(-1) movement) and for long (myopic) eyes the accommodative effect is much less than the dual optic lens. The dual optic lens system under condition (3) yields less accommodation amplitude compared with the dual optic system under condition (2) over the total range of axial length but provides higher accommodation amplitude compared with the mono optic lens system (1) with axial lengths greater than 22.3 mm (lens power 25.5 D). In the accommodated state, with lens translation of 1 mm, the absolute value of the lateral magnification increases with the refractive power of the mono optic lens (1) and decreases in both dual optic lens systems (under conditions 2 and 3). CONCLUSIONS: A mathematical strategy is presented for calculation of the accommodative effect of mono-optic and dual optic AIOL. The dual optic lens yielded a nearly constant accommodation amplitude of about 2.4-2.5 D mm(-1) translation, whereas the mono optic lens yielded an accommodative response of <2 D mm(-1) translation in long myopic or normal eyes. Only in extremely short eyes is the accommodative amplitude of the mono-optic lens higher than the dual optic lens.