Articles techniques et présentations

For the purpose of investigation the inertial behaviour of the crystalline lens, the COMSOL Multiphysics® software was used to create a 2D multi-physics model of the porcine eye globe, by using the Fluid-Structure Interaction (FSI). The geometry of the porcine eye model was adapted from the literature data. All the structures of the eye model were assumed to be linearly elastic, including the zonular fibers which connected the crystalline lens to the ciliary body. Multibody Dynamics Module was used for modelling the main eye components, while the aqueous humour and the vitreous body were assumed to be a viscous Newtonian fluids, so modelled by Laminar Flow. Just like in the ex vivo experiments, the eye was modelled to rotate by 90 degrees around its center. During this movement, the actual lens positions data were recorded. The next step was to run a Purkinje performance simulation using the output of the FEM simulation. Eventually, the results of optical simulations were compared to those of ex vivo experiments on fresh porcine eyes. The simulation results reasonably match the test results. After stopping, the lens shows some overshooting: then, it stabilized due to the damping of the tissues, especially zonular fibers and ciliary muscles. The overshooting amplitude of the lens is the result of the damping factor of the zonules that play an important role in the eye. The results show that the damping factor is also changing with time.