Volume 7, Number 10, Article 16, Pages 1-10 doi:10.1167/7.10.16 http://journalofvision.org/7/10/16/ ISSN 1534-7362
The shape of the human lens nucleus with accommodation
Erik Hermans
Department of Physics and Medical Technology, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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Michiel Dubbelman
Department of Physics and Medical Technology, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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Rob van der Heijde
Department of Physics and Medical Technology, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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Rob Heethaar
Department of Physics and Medical Technology, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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Abstract

Knowledge about geometric properties such as shape and volume and Poisson's ratio of the nucleus can be used in the mechanical and optical modeling of the accommodation process. Therefore, Scheimpflug imaging was used to determine the shape of the human lens nucleus during accommodation in five subjects. To describe the shape of the nucleus, we fitted a parametric model of the cross-sectional geometry to the gradient of the Scheimpflug images using the Hough transform. The geometric model made it possible to estimate the anterior and the posterior central radius, central thickness, equatorial diameter, and cross-sectional area of the nucleus. Assuming that the nucleus is rotationally symmetric, the volume of the nucleus can be estimated by integrating around the circumference. For all five subjects, the results show that during accommodation the nucleus became more convex and that the central thickness increased whereas the equatorial diameter decreased. This decrease in equatorial diameter of the nucleus with accommodation is in accordance with the Helmholtz accommodation theory. Finally, the volume of the nucleus (on average 35 mm3) showed no significant change during accommodation in any of the subjects, presumably due to the fact that the human nucleus consists of incompressible material with a Poisson's ratio that is near .5.

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History
Received December 12, 2006; published July 31, 2007
Citation
Hermans, E., Dubbelman, M., van der Heijde, R., & Heethaar, R. (2007). The shape of the human lens nucleus with accommodation. Journal of Vision, 7(10):16, 1-10, http://journalofvision.org/7/10/16/, doi:10.1167/7.10.16.
Keywords
Scheimpflug, lens, nucleus, Hough, transform, accommodation, volume
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