Title: Mechanics of ocular lens accommodation consistent with the classical Helmholtz theory

Authors: Kai-tak Wan, Nathan Ravi

Addresses: Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, 334 Snell Engineering Center, Northeastern University, 360 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA. ' Department of Veterans Affairs, St. Louis, MO, USA; Department of Chemical Engineering, Washington University, St. Louis, MO, USA; Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Washington University, St. Louis, MO, USA

Abstract: A mathematical model is derived to account for the classical Helmholtz theory of accommodation mechanics. By treating the lens capsule as the only elastic deformable component of the ocular lens and the lens fibre as an incompressible liquid capable of supporting a hydrostatic pressure, the mechanical response of a lens subject to equatorial tensile by the zonules is found. The results are consistent with Helmholtz that a stretched or unaccommodated lens possesses a reduced curvature along the optical pole. The model is compared with an alternative model recently built by Chien et al.

Keywords: accommodation mechanics; ocular lens; Helmholtz; elasticity; mathematical modelling; biomechanics.

DOI: 10.1504/IJECB.2009.029194

International Journal of Experimental and Computational Biomechanics, 2009 Vol.1 No.2, pp.193 - 203

Published online: 09 Nov 2009 *

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