Age-related changes in biomechanical properties of rabbit corneas / 医用生物力学

ABSTRACT

Objective To study the age-related changes in biomechanical properties of rabbit cornea by using the data from uniaxial extension testing on rabbit cornea strips. Methods To obtain the experiment data, the uniaxial extension test on rabbit cornea strips of both 3-month old and 7 to 8 month-old were performed. The exponential function model and power function model were used to fit the strain-stress curves, and two kinds of viscoelastic mechanical models were used to analyze the stress relaxation curves. Results The mechanical behavior of the rabbit cornea strip presented a nonlinear and viscoelastic property. Within the range of error permitting, the age was not an important factor to affect the stress-strain, as no significant difference was found in nonlinear stress-strain curve of rabbit cornea strips between different ages. The cornea strips of 7 to 8 month-old rabbit had a slightly bigger elastic modulus and a faster stress relaxation than those of 3 month-old one. Different stretching rates had no obvious influence on the nonlinear stress-strain of 3-month old rabbit cornea strips, but the cornea strips at high stretching rate could have a faster stress relaxation. Conclusions The tangent modulus of rabbit cornea increases slightly with age, but its relaxation properties would change greatly with age.