Determining in vivo biomechanical properties of the cornea with an ocular response analyzer.

PURPOSE: To study the results of an ocular response analyzer (ORA) to determine the biomechanical properties of the cornea and their relationship to intraocular pressure (IOP).

SETTING: Reichert Inc., Depew, New York, USA.

METHODS: The ORA (Reichert) makes 2 essentially instantaneous applanation measurements that permit determination of corneal and IOP effects.

RESULTS: Measurements of several populations indicate that corneal hysteresis, a biomechanical measure, varied over a dynamic range of 1.8 to 14.6 mm Hg and was only weakly correlated with corneal thickness (r(2)=0.12); this is related to the observation that some subjects with relatively thick corneas have less-than-average corneal hysteresis. Corneal hysteresis changes diurnally, presumably as a result of hydration changes. Keratoconus, Fuchs' dystrophy, and post-LASIK patients demonstrated low corneal hysteresis.

CONCLUSION: The corneal hysteresis biomechanical measure may prove valuable for qualification and predictions of outcomes of refractive surgery and in other cases in which corneal biomechanics are important.