A 3D fluid-solid interaction model of the air puff test in the human cornea

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Ophthalmology
• Computational Mechanics

Background:

• The air puff test is a contactless method to assess human cornea biomechanics.
• Its diagnostic relevance remains debated despite extensive research.
• Potential exists for integrating the test with inverse analysis for cornea model parameterization.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a numerical model for the air puff test.
• To simulate fluid-solid interaction between the aqueous humor and the cornea.
• To advance material identification algorithms for cornea biomechanics.

Main Methods:

• A finite element method (FEM) for the cornea.
• A meshfree discretization for the anterior chamber fluids.
• Coupled fluid-solid interaction with modified interface boundary conditions.

Main Results:

• The first fully 3D simulation of aqueous-cornea fluid-solid interaction using a meshfree fluid approach.
• Numerical results highlight the critical role of internal fluids in air puff test simulations.
• Validation of the model's capability to capture cornea biomechanics.

Conclusions:

• The proposed model provides a robust framework for simulating the air puff test.
• Accounting for fluid-solid interaction is essential for accurate cornea biomechanical analysis.
• This approach serves as a paradigm for identifying human cornea mechanical parameters.