# 2.	Optical Coherence Elastography of the Cornea

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON · 2022 · $55,386

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
This project will require me to develop and build an ultrafast compressional OCE system for high resolution
mapping of corneal biomechanical properties in 3D. This system is based on an ultra-fast Fourier Domain Mode
Locked swept source laser. Following data acquisition, I will also be implementing signal processing algorithms
that will isolate the actuator-induced displacements in the cornea. The system will be validated with a series of
tissue-mimicking phantoms, followed by ex vivo samples. To assess the capability of the system to measure
changes in corneal biomechanical properties, various crosslinking (CXL) treatments will be applied to the ex vivo
corneas, including traditional and custom CXL treatments. These measurements will enable me to optimize the
imaging parameters and signal processing algorithms. After validation, in vivo volumetric OCE measurements
will be performed in various rabbit models. Similar to the ex vivo samples, both traditional and custom CXL
therapies will be applied in order to assess the efficacy of the system to map changes in corneal biomechanical
properties. Custom CXL shows great promise for improving CXL outcomes by limiting the area of treatment to
only the weakened tissue but is currently only guided by corneal topography. Additionally, with 3D OCE,
biomechanically-guided custom CXL could potentially and drastically improve CXL outcomes with personalized
therapies.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10580364
- **Project number:** 3R01EY022362-10S1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON
- **Principal Investigator:** Salavat R Aglyamov
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $55,386
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2012-06-01 → 2024-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10580364

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10580364, 2.	Optical Coherence Elastography of the Cornea (3R01EY022362-10S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-09-21 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10580364. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*