Abstract
Purpose :
To identify focal corneal biomechanical alterations in vivo after Standard Protocol CXL using motion-tracking Brillouin microscopy.
Methods :
Prospective study comparing motion tracking Brillouin shift data from patients before and 3 months after undergoing CXL. Patients had both Scheimpflug imaging and motion tracking Brillouin microscopy imaging. Mean, Maximum (Max), and Minimum (Min) Brillouin shift, Spatial standard deviation (SSD), and Max-Min values were compared. The primary endpoint was the regional change in Brillouin longitudinal modulus (postoperatively (MHz) as measured within the central 6mm.
Results :
Postoperatively, CXL induced stiffening across the central 6mm of the cornea, with mean Brillouin shift increasing by 20.42 ± 10.81 MHz. There was wide variation in induced stiffening across different patients, with individual Mean Brillouin shifts ranging from 11.94 ± 5.35 to 25.39 MHz ± 12.72 MHz.
Conclusions :
Brillouin microscopy successfully measured focal corneal stiffness increases after CXL, thereby providing novel, highly specific localized corneal biomechanical data in vivo. The wide range of induced stiffening measured after standard protocol CXL mirrors the clinical variation seen after CXL procedures.
This abstract was presented at the 2023 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in New Orleans, LA, April 23-27, 2023.