title: Assessing age-related changes in the biomechanical properties of rabbit lens using a coaligned ultrasound and optical coherence elastography system.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the capability of a novel, coaligned focused ultrasound and phase-sensitive optical coherence elastography (US-OCE) system to assess age-related changes in biomechanical properties of the crystalline lens in situ.
  
  
  METHODS
  Low-amplitude elastic deformations in young and mature rabbit lenses were measured by an US-OCE system consisting of a spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (OCT) system coaligned with a focused ultrasound system used to produce a transient force on the lens surface. Uniaxial compressional tests were used to validate the OCE data.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The OCE measurements showed that the maximum displacements of the young rabbit lenses were significantly larger than those of the mature lenses, indicating a gradual increase of the lens stiffness with age. Temporal analyses of the displacements also demonstrate a similar trend of elastic properties in these lenses. The stress-strain measurements using uniaxial mechanical tests confirmed the results obtained by the US-OCE system.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results demonstrate that the US-OCE system can be used for noninvasive analysis and quantification of lens biomechanical properties in situ and possibly in vivo.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Houston, Houston, Texas, United States.
authors.forename: Chen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Houston, Houston, Texas, United States.
authors.forename: Zhaolong
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Han
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Houston, Houston, Texas, United States Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, United States.
authors.forename: Shang
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Houston, Houston, Texas, United States.
authors.forename: Jiasong
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Houston, Houston, Texas, United States.
authors.forename: Manmohan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Houston, Houston, Texas, United States.
authors.forename: Chih-Hao
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, United States.
authors.forename: Salavat
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Aglyamov
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, United States.
authors.forename: Stanislav
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Emelianov
authors.affiliation: Ophthalmic Biophysics Center, Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida, United States Biomedical Optics and Laser Laboratory, Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Miami College of Engineering, Coral Gables, Florida, United States.
authors.forename: Fabrice
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Manns
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Houston, Houston, Texas, United States Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, United States.
authors.forename: Kirill V
authors.initials: KV
authors.lastname: Larin
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging; D000818:Animals; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D054459:Elasticity Imaging Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation*; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D007908:Lens, Crystalline / Q000166:cytology / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000502:physiology*; D011817:Rabbits; D041623:Tomography, Optical Coherence / Q000295:instrumentation*
keywords: biomechanics; lens; optical coherence elastography