A laboratory scale facility for the parametric characterization of the intraocular pressure of the human eye

Abstract

This paper presents the initial phases of the design and development of a laboratory scale facility for the characterization of the intraocular pressure in the human eye. The development phase included the mechanical design of the various parts of the facility. Several manufacturing techniques have been employed including multi-axes computer aided manufacturing as well as three dimensional shaping of porous media. Furthermore, contact lens manufacturing technology has been employed in order to form the various parts of the eye model such as the cornea and the eyelid. Specialized contact lenses are envisaged that would be used to obtain fluid motion and mechanical stress data from the flow simulating the biological flow in the anterior chamber. Particular effort has been devoted in the characterization of the mechanical properties of the materials used to simulate the cornea in order to guarantee dynamic similarity between the model and the biological flow field. © 2010 International Federation for Medical and Biological Engineering.