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Updated: Nov 23, 2025
In vivo Structural Assessments of Ocular Disease in Rodent Models using Optical Coherence Tomography
Published on: July 24, 2020
Correlation of Intraoperative Optical Coherence Tomography of Crystalline Lens Diameter, Thickness, and Volume with
George Oral Waring1, Daniel H Chang2, Karolinne Maia Rocha3
1Waring Vision Institute, Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina, USA.
Purpose:
To characterize crystalline lens dimensions derived from in vivo spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) and identify associations among these parameters, ocular biometry, and age.
Methods:
In this retrospective study, lens thickness (LT), lens diameter (LD), and lens volume (LV) were measured intraoperatively using SD-OCT in 293 eyes undergoing lens surgery. Correlations among LT, LD, LV, age, axial length (AL), and anterior chamber depth (ACD) were analyzed. Multiple regression analysis was performed to determine whether a combination of biometric data could predict LD and LV.
Results:
Wide variations were observed in LT (3.6-5.7 mm), LD (7.5-11.9 mm), and LV (119.9-312.4 mm3) of aging eyes. Correlations among the 3 lens dimensions were statistically significant (LV-LT: r = 0.785; P < .001; LV-LD: r = 0.696; P < .001; and LT-LD: r = 0.121; P = .039). With age, the correlation coefficients of LT, LD, and LV were 0.526, 0.326, and 0.573, respectively (P < .001). Although there was significant correlation of AL with LT (r = -0.137; P = .002) and LD (r = 0.268; P < .001), it was not significant with LV (r = 0.084; P = .15). Subgroup analysis revealed that 19.8% of long eyes had LD >1 standard deviation (SD) above and that 5.2% had LD <1 SD below the mean LD.
Conclusions:
Dimensions of the aging lens vary considerably and are most accurately characterized by direct measurement of LT, LD, and LV, rather than making assumptions based on AL. These findings challenge historically proposed relationships between LD and AL and represent a normative dataset of contemporary geometric features of the aging lens, possibly aiding in surgical decision making and future developments in lens surgery.
