Rabbit cornea stromal hydration measured with proton NMR spectroscopy

The suitability of water proton spin-lattice relaxation time T1 as a measure of corneal dysfunction is investigated in this paper. Proton nuclear magnetic resonance measurements were performed on excised rabbit corneas using the saturation recovery method to determine the proton spin-lattice relaxation time T1. Both freshly excised and progressively swollen rabbit corneas were studied. The experimental results are consistent with a two compartment model of "bound" water and "free" water. This model results in a linear correlation between 1 / T1 (measured) and 1/corneal hydration. This correlation suggests that water proton T1 values can be used as an index of corneal dysfunction.