A patient-specific fluid-structure interaction analysis of the optic nerve head in glaucoma

Alteration of the intraocular pressure (IOP) has been shown to be implicated in the development of glaucomatous optic neuropathy, particularly at the level of the lamina cribrosa. The stresses and strains at the head of the optic nerve, where it attaches to the sclera, play crucial role in the development of the glaucoma in the eye. Although so far several studies have been conducted to investigate the optic nerve head (ONH) biomechanics in glaucoma, there is still a lack of knowledge on the magnitudes of the stresses and strains at the ONH site in the presence of all the components of the eye. This study, therefore, aimed to investigate the IOP-related stress and strain within the load-bearing connective tissues of the ONH in glaucoma. To do that, our well established patient-specific fluid-structure interaction (FSI) model of the eye was employed andthe IOP of 5 kPa (37.50 mmHg) was applied to the interior surface of the sclera, where the vitreous body is in interaction with the eye components. The results revealed the stress and strain of 31.97 kPa and 0.37%, respectively, at the ONH. The highest stress and strain of 217.60 kPa and 15.07%, respectively, were observed in the anteriorof the eye globe, where the lens, ciliary body, iris, aqueous body, and cornea are located .

Keywords:

Eye , Glaucoma , Intraocular pressure , Finite element method , stress and strain