Defense Date

4-4-2022

Graduation Date

Spring 5-13-2022

Availability

Immediate Access

Submission Type

thesis

Degree Name

MS

Department

Biomedical Engineering

School

Rangos School of Health Sciences

Committee Chair

Bin Yang

Committee Member

Kimberly Williams

Committee Member

Jason Heming

Keywords

CXL, Keratoconus, cornea, riboflavin

Abstract

Corneal cross-linking is a clinical procedure that is known to stop the progression of keratoconus, an eye disease that affects the cornea’s structure, ultimately leading to vision loss in its advanced stages. The typical treatment plan includes riboflavin and UV-A exposure in the hope to increase the mechanical properties of the cornea. There are two types of CXL pathways, with Type-II CXL requiring oxygen. Naturally, the dissolved oxygen is limited in the cornea; therefore, limiting the effect of Type-II CXL. This study proposes to improve the Type-II CXL contribution by integrating dissolved oxygen during the standard CXL treatment used in today’s practice. The enhancement of the cornea’s mechanical properties was evaluated for oxygen-assisted CXL (O2CXL). Overall, the O2CXL showed a significant increase in biomechanical enhancement as compared to the standard CXL. Such enhancement could be attributed to the supplied oxygen, which prolonged the Type-II CXL and improved its stiffening effect.

Language

English

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