Quantitative measurement of scleral mechanical properties based on optical coherence elastography

JIE Yong; QIN Xi; ZHANG Xinyu

doi:10.19529/j.cnki.1672-6278.2025.05.06

Abstract：To quantitatively measure the mechanical properties of the sclera,we established a sclera shear wave optical coherence elastography(OCE)research platform based on OCE technology,using the piezoelectric stack as the shear wave excitation module and spectral domain optical coherence tomography(SD-OCT)as the motion detection module.Firstly,two scanning modes,M-mode and M-B mode were developed to track the shear wave propagation induced by the piezoelectric stack,achieving non-destructive and high-resolution quantitative analysis of the mechanical properties of different regions of the sclera.Then,experiments on silicone gel mimics,isolated eyeballs and sclera collagen cross-linking were designed.Finally,by systematically comparing the OCE measurement results with the traditional uniaxial mechanical tensile tests,the feasibility and effectiveness of the platform were verified.The experiments on the silicone gel imitation showed that as the Shore hardness of the silicone gel imitation increased,the shear wave velocity also in-creased accordingly.The in vitro eyeball experiment showed that the shear wave velocities on the sclera presented regional differences.Among them,the hardness was the greatest at the equatorial part,followed by the anterior part and the smallest at the posterior part.The scleral collagen cross-linking experiment showed that this method could distinguish the differences in hardening effects caused by different durations of ultraviolet radiation.This research not only provides a new method for evaluating the region-specific mechanical properties of the sclera,but also offers an important technique for studying the pathogenesis of diseases related to scleral biomechanics,such as myopia and glaucoma.