Optical feedback controlled scleral remodeling as a mechanism for myopic eye growth

Experimental studies of myopia have demonstrated that optical errors imposed on a developing eye will stimulate elongation of the globe, although the mechanism of axial growth is not well understood. In this study, a mathematical model of eye growth is presented in which expansion of the globe occurs as the elastic deformations of the scleral shell are incorporated into the zero stress configuration of the eye during the scleral remodeling process. The rate of remodeling is determined by the retinal blur and the amplitude of accommodation, which provide feedback loops for both unilateral and bilateral hyperopic refractive error-compensation. Normal eye growth and experimental myopia are simulated in tree shrews, a small mammal related to primates. The model demonstrates that the rate of ocular elongation in experimental myopia may be controlled by regulating the rate of soft tissue remodeling in the scleral shell.