V.S. Kukanova; A.K. Dzamikhova; A.A. Akovantseva; A.A. Frolova; Yu.M. Efremov; T. Yu Shilova; A.A. Svistunov; S.E. Avetisov; P.S. Timashev; S.L. Kotova
Clinical Biomechanics, Volume 125, 2025, 106508, ISSN 0268-0033, Published: May 2025
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clinbiomech.2025.106508
2 citations · 2 en 2025–2026
Les titres, résumés et légendes des publications sont présentés en anglais.
Abstract
Background:
Myopia is currently the most common refractive disorder of the eye. The important role of the cornea’s biomechanical parameters in relation to myopia has long been acknowledged, and ReLEx® SMILE minimally invasive refractive surgery offers new possibilities in the corneal biomechanical studies. The reported data on the role of the age and myopia degree in the corneal biomechanics are inconsistent.
Methods
We have examined a considerable number (122 in total) of SMILE-derived lenticules from patients of different ages and with different severity of myopia, using atomic force microscopy, microtester and tensile testing.
Findings
The mechanical properties of lenticules varied in a wide range and differed for the different techniques used. No differences between the Young’s moduli of the anterior and posterior sides of lenticules were observed. The age-related stiffening of the cornea found in some studies was not registered in our study, with >150 samples of patients aged from 17 to 47 years. Significantly lower tensile moduli of lenticules from moderate and high myopic eyes were measured by tensile testing in high-strain conditions, while no correlation was found using other techniques. The structural atomic force microscopy imaging studies demonstrated a mostly chaotic 3D network of collagen fibrils, while the roughness was independent of the myopia severity.
Interpretation
No fundamental effect of the age and myopia degree on the corneal mechanical properties and morphology has been shown. The inconsistency of findings reported in the literature are due to the high dispersion of experimental data and specifics of the measurement techniques.
Keywords:
Myopia; Refractive surgery; ReLEx® SMILE®; Cornea; Biomechanical properties; Atomic force microscopy.
Utilisation des équipements
Des lenticules cornéens prélevés chez des patients opérés par SMILE ont été examinés par microscopie à force atomique, à l’aide d’un microtesteur et par essais de traction afin d’évaluer leurs propriétés mécaniques selon l’âge et le degré de myopie. Le résumé disponible n’identifie ni le microtesteur ni l’équipement de traction; le rôle et le protocole du Mach-1 Mechanical Tester ne peuvent donc pas être confirmés.
Configurations de test (2)
