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The purpose of this paper was to demonstrate a noninvasive technique to measure elastic properties of human eyes using ultrasound surface wave elastography (USWE) technique. Twenty eyes of 10 healthy subjects (age 44–63; mean 51 years) were studied. A localized harmonic vibration for 0.1 second at 100 Hz was generated by using a spherically-tipped vibrator (3 mm diameter) placed on the closed eyelid. The subjects only felt a gentle vibration on their eyes. The wave propagation in the eye was measured by using a linear array ultrasound transducer. The wave speed was determined from the change in phase with distance. Mean wave speed in the cornea was 1.82 ± 0.10 m/s (± SD) at 100 Hz. Intraocular pressure (IOP) was measured by using Goldmann applanation tonometry. Mean IOP was 12.8 ± 2.7 mmHg (± SD). The wave speed correlated well with IOP (r=0.74; p<0.001). USWE is a safe and noninvasive technique for generating and measuring wave propagation in the eye. Further improvement and validation of USWE in the eye experiments is needed.
Zhang et al. (Thu,) studied this question.