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Updated: Apr 1, 2026

Integrated Photoacoustic Ophthalmoscopy and Spectral-domain Optical Coherence Tomography
Published on: January 15, 2013
Observation of sound-induced corneal vibrational modes by optical coherence tomography
B Imran Akca1, Ernest W Chang1, Sabine Kling2
1Wellman Center for Photomedicine and Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, 40 Blossom St., Boston, MA, 02140, USA.
Abstract:
The mechanical stability of the cornea is critical for maintaining its normal shape and refractive function. Here, we report an observation of the mechanical resonance modes of the cornea excited by sound waves and detected by using phase-sensitive optical coherence tomography. The cornea in bovine eye globes exhibited three resonance modes in a frequency range of 50-400 Hz. The vibration amplitude of the fundamental mode at 80-120 Hz was ~8 µm at a sound pressure level of 100 dB (2 Pa). Vibrography allows the visualization of the radially symmetric profiles of the resonance modes. A dynamic finite-element analysis supports our observation.
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