Biological effects of focused ultrasound on rabbit’s cornea

Abstract:

Objective：To study the biological effects of focused ultrasound（FU） on rabbit’s cornea. Methods：Totally 26 eyes of 13 New Zealand rabbits were randomly divided into A，B，C groups according to FU power and corneal diameter. Group A was irradiated using power of 1 W and corneal diameter of 9 mm；group B was irradiated using power of 1.5 W and corneal diameter of 9 mm；group C was irradiated using power of 1 W and corneal diameter of 7 mm. Rabbits were examined with slit-lamp microscope，auto refrac－tometer，corneal topography，specular microscopy and non-contact tonometer before the operation and on 3，10 d and at 1，2，3 months after the operation respectively. Results：Twenty-four eyes（92.3%） had corneal epithelium defect in irradiated area immediately after the operation and all 26 eyes（100%） got complete corneal epithelium on 3 d after the operation. Curvature of the central corneal was reduced gradually 1，2，3 months postoperatively（P<0.05）；diopter was increased gradually（P<0.05），presenting a trend to hyperopia，the same as the change of central corneal curvature. Non-contact intraocular pressure was reduced on 3，10 d postoperatively（P<0.05） and was recovered at 1，2，3 months postoperatively. Corneal endothelial cell density was not statistically significant between preoperative and postoperative observation. Conclusions：FU irradiation at the peripheral cornea of rabbits can reduce central corneal curvature and is safe when applied in rabbit’s cornea.