Anterior eye focusing of peripheral ultraviolet and visible radiation albedo

Concern about short- and long-term ultraviolet radiation (particularly UVB) damage to the eye has led to increased research in this area. Numerous studies have confirmed the pathogenic enhancing roles of reflected ultraviolet (UV) and visible radiation in our environment. There is concern that conventional sunglasses do not protect the eye adequately from reflected rays (albedo), especially on the lateral aspect, from behind and from below. Using eye models and computer ray tracing methods, the pathways of oblique rays incident at the temporal peripheral cornea have been plotted by Maloof, Ho and Coroneo.¹ These rays are refracted and focused and theoretically can result in up to 20 times the concentration of incident irradiance at the nasal anterior chamber angle and nasal equatorial cortex of the crystalline lens. The purpose of this study was to determine the limits of angular subtense of the incident peripheral light which is refracted in this manner in human subjects and to investigate the relation between corneal shape and certain ocular parameters to the limits. A statistically significant positive correlation was found between temporal entrance angle and anterior chamber depth (r = 0.70, P< 0.0006). The entrance angle ranged from 15 degrees to 30 degrees and was located 10 degrees to 45 degrees posterior to the coronal plane. Our results support Maloof and colleagues' predictions for the implication of focused peripheral UV and high intensity visible radiation in the pathogenesis of pterygium and cortical cataract and emphasise the need for lateral eye protection in conditions of high ultraviolet albedo.     

FM sonography in diffuse liver disease: prospective assessment and blinded analysis

FM sonography - a signal-processing technique that uses frequency and phase information as well as amplitude data - shows promise in evaluation of patients with diffuse liver disease. In a prospective blinded review of 37 patients with biopsy-proved liver disease and 42 healthy volunteers, FM sonography was clearly superior to traditional amplitude-based (AM) sonography in distinguishing healthy from diseased subjects. Statistically significant differences were seen in accuracy (FM, 98.7%; AM, 84.8%), sensitivity (FM, 97.3%; AM, 70.3%), and negative predictive value (FM, 97.7%; AM, 78.8%). Our data also suggest that current FM sonographic techniques cannot differentiate among histologic findings associated with different hepatic parenchymal abnormalities. It is unclear, therefore, whether FM imaging can reduce the numbers of patients who require biopsy for diagnosis or the frequency of biopsy procedures in patients with known disease.