Ophthalmic Engineering

Research has been underway since 1999 on the study of certain aspects of the mechanical behaviour of the human eye. The work has been principally concerned principally with studies on the mechanics of accommodation, the causes of presbyopia and the development of assessment procedures for potential surgical treatments for presbyopia. Current research is funded by the Wellcome Trust. Support has also been recently provided via Leverhulme Trust/Royal Academy of Engineering. Senior Research Fellowship.

At first sight, this topic may seem rather distant from other research being conducted within the Oxford Civil Engineering Research Group. Close links do exist, however. Research on the mechanics of accommodation, for example, is being conducted using finite element procedures that are similar to those that have been developed to study problems in Reinforced Soil, Tunnelling and Offshore Foundations.

Research (funded by the Wellcome Trust and the Leverhulme Trust) is currently being conducted by Dr Harvey Burd and Mr Geoffrey Wilde (Oxford University Department of Engineering Science) in collaboration with Dr Stuart Judge of the Oxford Laboratory of Physiology and Mr Paul Rosen of the Oxford Eye Hospital.

Current Research

• Stiffness of the natural lens
• Engineering methods for design and assessment of potential surgical treatment for presbyopia
• Mechanical behaviour of the lens capsule
• Finite Element Analysis of Cutting Patterns in Human Presbyopic Lenses

Recent Research

• Reassessment of Fisher's (1971) spinning lens test
• Modelling studies on an accommodating intraocular lens
• Theories of presbyopia
• Numerical modelling of accommodation and presbyopia
• Numerical modelling of lens re-filling procedures
• Mechanics of the cornea

Here is a full list of our publications on this subject

• Wilde, G.S., Burd, H.J., and Judge, S.J. (2009). Age-Related Changes in Human Lens Stiffness data. ARVO Abstract.
• Burd, H. J. (2009). A structural constitutive model for the human lens capsule. Biomechanics and Modeling in Mechanobiology. In press
• Wilde, G. S., S. J. Judge and Wilde, G.S. (2008). Measurement of lens stiffness using a spinning lens test. ARVO. Fort Lauderdale, Abstract 3785.
• Burd, H.J., Wilde, G.S. and Judge, S.J. (2006) Can reliable values of Young's modulus be deduced from Fisher's (1971) spinning lens measurements? Vision Research, 46(8-9), 1346-1360.
• Burd, H.J., Wilde, G.S. and Judge, S.J. (2005) A reassessment of Fisher's spinning lens test. EVER abstract No. 4322
• Burd, H.J. and Judge, S.J. (2003) Numerical studies of the importance of changes in lens geometry and stiffness in causing presbyopia. (EVER Abstract). Journal for Research in Experimental and Clinical Ophthalmology, 35(1) Abstract No. 2168
• Judge, S.J. and Burd, H.J. (2002) Modelling the Mechanics of Accommodation and Presbyopia. Ophthal. Physiol. Opt. 22, 397-300
• Burd, H.J., Judge, S.J. and Cross, J.A. (2002) Numerical Modelling of the Accommodating Lens. Vision Research 42, 2235-2251
• Burd, H.J., Judge, S.J. and Cross, J.A. (1999) Numerical modelling of ocular accommodation. (ARVO Abstract) Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science, 40(4), Abstract No. 4678
• Burd, H.J., Judge, S.J. and Flavell, M.J. (1999) Mechanics of Accommodation of the Human Eye. Vision Research 39, 1591-1595