SIGNIFICANCE It is generally agreed that the corneal mechanical properties are strongly linked to many eye diseases and could be used to assess disease progression and response to therapies. Elastography is the most notable method of assessing corneal mechanical properties, but it generally requires some type of external excitation to induce a measurable displacement in the tissue. AIM We present Heartbeat Optical Coherence Elastography (Hb-OCE), a truly passive method that can measure the elasticity of the cornea based on intrinsic corneal displacements induced by the heartbeat. APPROACH Hb-OCE measurements were performed in untreated and UV-A/riboflavin cross-linked porcine corneas ex vivo, and a distinct difference in strain was detected. Furthermore, a partially cross-linked cornea was also assessed, and the treated and untreated areas were similarly distinguished. RESULTS Our results suggest that Hb-OCE can spatially map displacements in the cornea induced by small fluctuations in intraocular pressure, similar to what is induced by the heartbeat. CONCLUSIONS The described technique opens the possibility for completely passive and noncontact in vivo assessment of corneal stiffness.

中文翻译：

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Heartbeat OCE：通过光学相干弹性成像测量的模拟心跳脉动的角膜生物力学响应。

意义人们普遍认为，角膜机械特性与许多眼病密切相关，可用于评估疾病进展和对治疗的反应。弹性成像是评估角膜机械性能的最显着方法，但它通常需要某种类型的外部激励来诱导组织中的可测量位移。目的 我们提出了心跳光学相干弹性成像 (Hb-OCE)，这是一种真正的被动方法，可以根据心跳引起的内在角膜位移来测量角膜的弹性。方法 Hb-OCE 测量在未经处理和 UV-A/核黄素交联的离体猪角膜中进行，并检测到明显的应变差异。此外，还评估了部分交联的角膜，处理区和未处理区的区分相似。结果 我们的结果表明，Hb-OCE 可以在空间上绘制由眼压小波动引起的角膜位移，类似于心跳引起的位移。结论 所描述的技术为完全被动和非接触式角膜僵硬度的体内评估开辟了可能性。