5:00 PM - 5:15 PM
▲ [10p-N404-12] Birefringence Measurement s of the Stretched Hydrogel Materials and Shark Corneas by Photoelastic Method
Keywords:Photoelastic Method, Birefringence, Corneas
The human cornea comprises many tissues and structures which can be divided into epithelium, anterior elastic lamina, stroma, descemets membrane and endothelium of the anterior chamber from the outside to the inside. The stroma accounts for about 80% to 90% of the total thickness of the human cornea . It mainly consists of about 200 layers of lamellae. Each layer is about 2 micrometer thick. The interlayer collagen fibers are arranged in different directions to form a staggered structure Due to the staggered structure of the collagen fibers of the stroma, the cornea has specific optical properties, for example, birefringence. To design successfully an artificial cornea , it is necessary by imitating the fibrous tissue and material properties of the human corneal stroma to increase mechanical properties and to maintain good optical properties. Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) is the primary material of artificial cornea because of its high bio-compatibility and a layered structure similar to the matrix. In this work, we took PVA hydrogel samples which were fabricated by the mold and stretching methods. We used the photoelastic method to analyze the stress of the sample and then used the phase and stress analysis to calculate the birefringence. In addition, to show we can apply this method to the biological sample, we also measure d the birefringence property of the shark corneas.