title: Corneal biomechanics - a review.
abstract: In recent years, the interest in corneal biomechanics has strongly increased. The material properties of the cornea determine its shape and therefore play an important role in corneal ectasia and related pathologies. This review addresses the molecular origin of biomechanical properties, models for their description, methods for their characterisation, techniques for their modification, and computational simulation approaches.
  
  
  
  Recent research has focused on developing non-contact techniques to measure the biomechanical properties in vivo, on determining structural and molecular abnormalities in pathological corneas, on developing and optimising techniques to reinforce the corneal tissue and on the computational simulation of surgical interventions.
  
  
  
  A better understanding of corneal biomechanics will help to improve current refractive surgeries, allow an earlier diagnosis of ectatic disorders and a better quantification of treatments aiming at reinforcing the corneal tissue.
authors.affiliation: CABMM, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Sabine
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kling
authors.affiliation: CABMM, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.|ELZA Institute AG Dietikon, Zurich, Switzerland.|USC Roski Eye Institute - Keck School of Medicine, Los Angeles, USA.|Ophthalmology, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Farhad
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Hafezi
mesh_terms: D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D003198:Computer Simulation; D003315:Cornea / Q000503:physiopathology*; D003316:Corneal Diseases / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D008962:Models, Theoretical
keywords: corneal biomechanics; corneal ectasia; extracellular matrix; numerical simulation