Abstract
Keratoconus and other corneal ectatic disorders involve the degradation
of collagen fibers, which compromises the corneal biomechanical
properties. UVA crosslinking has emerged as the primary treatment to
slow down collagen degradation. This treatment is limited in both
penetration depth and spatial precision, potentially leading to unwanted
side effects. This work compares the changes in stiffness of corneas
crosslinked with UVA irradiation and a near infrared femtosecond laser,
using Brillouin microscopy. The stiffness of the crosslinked regions was
mapped in terms of Brillouin frequency shift in three dimensions. UVA
crosslinking showed an average increase in Brillouin shift of
~ 100 MHz. We demonstrate targeted spatial and axial
corneal femtosecond crosslinking, with similar Brillouin shift values to
UVA in crosslinked regions.