Fibril density reduction in keratoconic corneas

Zhou, Dong, Abass, Ahmed ORCID: 0000-0002-8622-4632, Lopes, Bernardo, Eliasy, Ashkan, Hayes, Sally, Boote, Craig, Meek, Keith M, Movchan, Alexander, Movchan, Natalia ORCID: 0000-0001-9166-1952 and Elsheikh, Ahmed ORCID: 0000-0001-7456-1749 (2021) Fibril density reduction in keratoconic corneas JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY INTERFACE, 18 (175). 20200900-. ISSN 1742-5689, 1742-5662

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Abstract

This study aims to estimate the reduction in collagen fibril density within the central 6 mm radius of keratoconic corneas through the processing of microstructure and videokeratography data. Collagen fibril distribution maps and topography maps were obtained for seven keratoconic and six healthy corneas, and topographic features were assessed to detect and calculate the area of the cone in each keratoconic eye. The reduction in collagen fibril density within the cone area was estimated with reference to the same region in the characteristic collagen fibril maps of healthy corneas. Together with minimum thickness and mean central corneal refractive power, the cone area was correlated with the reduction in the cone collagen fibrils. For the corneas considered, the mean area of keratoconic cones was 3.30 ± 1.90 mm 2. Compared with healthy corneas, fibril density in the cones of keratoconic corneas was lower by as much as 35%, and the mean reduction was 17 ± 10%. A linear approximation was developed to relate the magnitude of reduction to the refractive power, minimum corneal thickness and cone area (R 2 = 0.95, p < 0.001). Outside the cone area, there was no significant difference between fibril arrangement in healthy and keratoconic corneas. The presented method can predict the mean fibril density in the keratoconic eye's cone area. The technique can be applied in microstructure-based finite-element models of the eye to regulate its stiffness level and the stiffness distribution within the areas affected by keratoconus.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	cornea, keratoconus, tissue microstructure, ocular biomechanics
Depositing User:	Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited:	01 Feb 2021 08:32
Last Modified:	23 May 2026 05:36
DOI:	10.1098/rsif.2020.0900
Related Websites:	Author Publisher
URI:	https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3114972
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