The biomechanical model of glaucoma considers intraocular pressure-related stress and resultant strain on load bearing connective tissues of the optic nerve and surrounding peripapillary sclera as one major causative influence that effects cellular, vascular, and axonal components of the optic nerve. By this reasoning, the quantification of variations in the microstructural architecture and macromechanical response of scleral shells in glaucomatous compared to healthy populations provides an insight into any variations that exist between patient populations. While scleral shells have been tested mechanically in planar and pressure-inflation scenarios the link between the macroscopic biomechanical response and the underlying microstructure has not been determined to date. A potential roadblock to determining how the microstructure changes based on pressure is the ability to mount the spherical scleral shells in a method that does not induce unwanted stresses to the samples (for instance, in the flattening of the spherical specimens), and then capturing macroscopic and microscopic changes under pressure. Often what is done is a macroscopic test followed by sample fixation and then imaging to determine microstructural organization. We introduce a novel device and method, which allows spherical samples to be pressurized and macroscopic and microstructural behavior quantified on fully hydrated ocular specimens. The samples are pressurized and a series of markers on the surface of the sclera imaged from several different perspectives and reconstructed between pressure points to allow for mapping of nonhomogenous strain. Pictures are taken from different perspectives through the use of mounting the pressurization scheme in a gimbal that allows for positioning the sample in several different spherical coordinate system configurations. This ability to move the sclera in space about the center of the globe, coupled with an upright multiphoton microscope, allows for collecting collagen, and elastin signal in a rapid automated fashion so the entire globe can be imaged.
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September 2011
Design Innovations
A Gimbal-Mounted Pressurization Chamber for Macroscopic and Microscopic Assessment of Ocular Tissues
Joseph T. Keyes,
Joseph T. Keyes
Graduate Interdisciplinary Program in Biomedical Engineering,
The University of Arizona
, Tucson, AZ 85721
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Dongmei Yan,
Dongmei Yan
The Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering,
The University of Arizona
, Tucson, AZ 85721
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Jacob H. Rader,
Jacob H. Rader
The Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering,
The University of Arizona
, Tucson, AZ 85721
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Urs Utzinger,
Urs Utzinger
Graduate Interdisciplinary Program in Biomedical Engineering,
The University of Arizona
, Tucson, AZ 85721; BIO5 Institute for Biocollaborative Research, The University of Arizona
, Tucson, AZ 85721; Department of Biomedical Engineering, The University of Arizona
, Tucson, AZ 85721
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Jonathan P. Vande Geest
Jonathan P. Vande Geest
Graduate Interdisciplinary Program in Biomedical Engineering,
The University of Arizona
, Tucson, AZ 85721; The Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, The University of Arizona
, Tucson, AZ 85721; BIO5 Institute for Biocollaborative Research, The University of Arizona
, Tucson, AZ 85721; Department of Biomedical Engineering, The University of Arizona
, Tucson, AZ 85721 e-mail:
Search for other works by this author on:
Joseph T. Keyes
Graduate Interdisciplinary Program in Biomedical Engineering,
The University of Arizona
, Tucson, AZ 85721
Dongmei Yan
The Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering,
The University of Arizona
, Tucson, AZ 85721
Jacob H. Rader
The Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering,
The University of Arizona
, Tucson, AZ 85721
Urs Utzinger
Graduate Interdisciplinary Program in Biomedical Engineering,
The University of Arizona
, Tucson, AZ 85721; BIO5 Institute for Biocollaborative Research, The University of Arizona
, Tucson, AZ 85721; Department of Biomedical Engineering, The University of Arizona
, Tucson, AZ 85721
Jonathan P. Vande Geest
Graduate Interdisciplinary Program in Biomedical Engineering,
The University of Arizona
, Tucson, AZ 85721; The Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, The University of Arizona
, Tucson, AZ 85721; BIO5 Institute for Biocollaborative Research, The University of Arizona
, Tucson, AZ 85721; Department of Biomedical Engineering, The University of Arizona
, Tucson, AZ 85721 e-mail: J Biomech Eng. Sep 2011, 133(9): 095001 (7 pages)
Published Online: October 11, 2011
Article history
Received:
July 18, 2011
Accepted:
August 8, 2011
Online:
October 11, 2011
Published:
October 11, 2011
Citation
Keyes, J. T., Yan, D., Rader, J. H., Utzinger, U., and Vande Geest, J. P. (October 11, 2011). "A Gimbal-Mounted Pressurization Chamber for Macroscopic and Microscopic Assessment of Ocular Tissues." ASME. J Biomech Eng. September 2011; 133(9): 095001. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4004921
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