Biomechanical simulation of needle insertion into cornea based on distortion energy failure criterion

This paper is mainly about biomechanical behavior of needle insertion into cornea, and proposes a failure criterion to simulate the insertion process which has attracted considerable attention due to its importance for the minimally invasive treatment.

In the process of needle insertion into cornea, tiny and complex insertion force is generated due to contact between needle and soft tissue. Based on the distortion energy theory, there is proposed a failure criterion of corneal material that can solve contact problem between rigid body and biological tissue in insertion simulation, where Cauchy stress of corneal material is the key to numerical calculation. A finite element model of in vivo cornea is built, and the cornea constrained by sclera is simplified to two layers containing epithelium and stroma. Considering the hyper-viscoelastic property of corneal material, insertion simulation is carried out.

By insertion experiment, the insertion force increases with insertion depth accompanying obvious fluctuations. Different insertion forces are generated at different speeds. The punctured locations are obvious in the force-displacement curves. The results of insertion simulation are generally consistent with experimental data. Maps of von Mises stress reflect the tissue injury of the cornea during insertion process, and punctured status corresponds to the point in the curves.

The ability of this study to reproduce the behavior of needle insertion into cornea opens a promising perspective for the control of robotic surgery operation as well as the real-time simulation of corneal suture surgery.