Two-photon collagen crosslinking in ex vivo human corneal lenticules induced by near-infrared femtosecond laser |
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| Authors: | Zhenzhou Cheng Nan Zhang Le Chang Pengfei Qi Lin Zhang Lie Lin Yan Wang Weiwei Liu |
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| Institution: | 1. Institute of Modern Optics, Eye Institute, Nankai University, Key Laboratory of Micro-scale Optical Information Science and Technology, Tianjin, China;2. Tianjin Eye Hospital, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Tianjin, China
Clinical College of Ophthalmology, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China |
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| Abstract: | Myopia and keratoconus have become common corneal diseases that threaten the quality of human vision, and keratoconus is one of the most common indications for corneal transplantation worldwide. Collagen crosslinking (CXL) using riboflavin and ultraviolet A (UVA) light is an effective approach for treating ophthalmic disorders and has been shown clinically not only to arrest further progression of keratoconus but also to improve refractive power for cornea. However, CXL surgery irradiated by UVA has various potential risks such as surface damage and endothelial cell damage. Here, near-infrared femtosecond laser-based two-photon CXL was first applied to ex vivo human corneal stroma, operating at low photon energy with high precision and stability. After two-photon CXL, the corneal stiffness can be enhanced by 300% without significantly reducing corneal transparency. These findings illustrate the optimized direction that depositing high pulses energy in corneal focal volume (not exceeding damage threshold), and pave the way to 3D CXL of in vivo human cornea with higher safety, precision, and efficacy. |
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| Keywords: | femtosecond laser human corneal lenticules keratoconus two-photon collagen crosslinking |
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