Fs-laser induced Flexibility Increase in the Crystalline Lens

摘要

Presbyopia is one age related effect every human is suffering beginning at the age of about 45 years. Reading glasses are the conventional treatment so far. According to the Helmholtz theory the loss of accommodation in age is due to the hardening and the resulting loss of elasticity of the crystalline lens. However the ciliary muscle and the lens capsule stay active, respectively. Therefore a possible treatment concept is to regain the flexibility by inducing gliding planes in form of microcuts inside the lens. The increase of flexibility in young porcine lenses by different cutting patterns was shown by Ripken et al. who verified the increase in flexibility by the spinning test introduced by Fisher. We will present our first measurements of flexibility increase of human donor lenses. Furthermore the influence of the laser cuts into the lens on the accommodation amplitude will be shown in a three dimensional finite-element simulation.