Optical coherence elastography assessment of corneal viscoelasticity with a modified Rayleigh-Lamb wave model

The biomechanical properties of the cornea play a critical role in forming vision. Diseases such as keratoconus can structurally degenerate the cornea causing a pathological loss in visual acuity. UV-A/riboflavin corneal collagen crosslinking (CXL) is a clinically available treatment to stiffen the cornea and restore its healthy shape and function. However, current CXL techniques do not account for pre-existing biomechanical properties of the cornea nor the effects of the CXL treatment itself. In addition to the inherent corneal structure, the intraocular pressure (IOP) can also dramatically affect the measured biomechanical properties of the cornea. In this work, we present the details and development of a modified Rayleigh-Lamb frequency equation model for quantifying corneal biomechanical properties. After comparison with finite element modeling, the model was utilized to quantify the viscoelasticity of in situ porcine corneas in the whole eye-globe configuration before and after CXL based on noncontact optical coherence elastography measurements. Moreover, the viscoelasticity of the untreated and CXL-treated eyes was quantified at various IOPs. The results showed that the stiffness of the cornea increased after CXL and that corneal stiffness is close to linear as a function of IOP. These results show that the modified Rayleigh-Lamb wave model can provide an accurate assessment of corneal viscoelasticity, which could be used for customized CXL therapies.