To explore the relationship between corneal biomechanical parameters and corneal sublayer thickness using corneal visualization Scheimpflug technology (Corvis ST) and ultrahigh-resolution optical coherence tomography (UHR-OCT) in clinical and suspected keratoconus and normal eyes. Cross-sectional prospective study. A total of 94 eyes of 70 participants were recruited. Twenty five eyes of 19 keratoconus patients, 52 eyes of 34 patients showing high risk of developing keratoconus according to the Belin/Ambrosio Enhanced Ectasia Display, and each eye of 17 normal subjects were enrolled. All participants underwent Corvis ST, Pentacam, and UHR-OCT examinations at the same time. Stiffness parameter A1 (SP-A1), deformation amplitude ratio (DA ratio), and other biomechanical parameters were recorded using Corvis ST. The vertical and horizontal thickness profiles of central 3 mm corneal epithelium, Bowman’s layer, and stroma as measured by the perpendicular distance between the neighboring interfaces were generated using UHR-OCT. The flat keratometry and steep keratometry were obtained using Pentacam. Analysis of correlation was applied to explore the association between variables. Most of the biomechanical parameters and corneal sublayer thickness profiles showed statistical differences among three groups. A statistically significant linear relationship was noted between SP-A1 and DA ratio in all three groups. SP-A1 was found to be positively correlated with epithelial and Bowman’s layer thickness in the keratoconus (KC) group, and with stromal thickness in all three groups. In the normal and suspected keratoconus (SKC) groups, only stromal thickness was included in the stepwise linear regression to predict SP-A1, whereas in the KC group, steep keratometry and Bowman’s layer thickness were included. Significant and different correlations were noted between corneal stiffness and corneal sublayer thickness in different groups, indicating that corneal sublayers may play different roles in maintaining corneal biomechanical stability between keratoconus and normal eyes.

中文翻译：

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用Corvis ST和UHR-OCT测量圆锥角膜和正常眼睛的角膜生物力学参数与角膜亚层厚度的关系

使用角膜可视化Scheimpflug技术（Corvis ST）和超高分辨率光学相干断层扫描（UHR-OCT），探讨临床和可疑圆锥角膜和正常眼睛中角膜生物力学参数与角膜亚层厚度之间的关系。横断面前瞻性研究。总共招募了70名参与者的94眼。根据Belin / Ambrosio增强性角膜扩张症显示，圆锥角膜19例患者的25眼，圆锥角膜高风险的34例患者的52眼，并入选了17名正常受试者的每只眼。所有参与者都同时接受了Corvis ST，Pentacam和UHR-OCT考试。使用Corvis ST记录刚度参数A1（SP-A1），变形振幅比（DA比）和其他生物力学参数。使用UHR-OCT生成中心3 mm角膜上皮，Bowman层和基质的垂直和水平厚度轮廓，该轮廓通过相邻界面之间的垂直距离进行测量。使用Pentacam获得平坦角膜测定法和陡峭角膜测定法。相关分析用于探讨变量之间的关联。大多数生物力学参数和角膜亚层厚度分布图显示三组之间的统计学差异。在所有三组中，SP-A1和DA比率之间存在统计学上显着的线性关系。发现圆锥角膜（KC）组中SP-A1与上皮和Bowman层的厚度呈正相关，在所有三个组中与SP-A1的基质厚度均呈正相关。在正常和可疑圆锥角膜（SKC）组中，在逐步线性回归中仅包括基质厚度以预测SP-A1，而在KC组中，包括陡峭角膜测量法和Bowman层厚度。不同组之间的角膜硬度和角膜亚层厚度之间存在显着且不同的相关性，表明角膜亚层在维持圆锥角膜和正常眼睛之间的角膜生物力学稳定性方面可能发挥不同的作用。