Glaucoma causes total or partial loss of vision in 10% of people over the age of 70, increasing their fragility and isolation. It is characterised by the destruction of the optic nerve fibres, which may result from excessively high intraocular pressure as well as other phenomena. Diagnosis is currently reached through a combination of several checks, mainly of the eyes’ fundus, tonometry and gonioscopy. Prior to validation for human subjects, the objective of this study is to validate whether ocular phantom-based models could be used to diagnose glaucoma using an onboard system, which could, even at home, prevent the early-stage development of the pathology. Eight phantoms modelling healthy eyes and eight phantoms modelling eyes with glaucoma due to excessive intraocular pressure were measured using an onboard system, including lens and electrophysiology electronics. We measured the actual average Zr (real part of impedance) impedance of 160.9 ± 24.3 ohms (glaucoma ocular phantom models) versus 211.9 ± 36.9 ohms (healthy ocular phantom models), and an average total water volume (Vt) of 3.02 ± 0.35 mL (glaucoma ocular phantom models) versus 2.45 ± 0.28 mL (healthy ocular Phantoms). On average, we obtained 51 ohms (−24.1%) less and 0.57 mL (22.9%) of total water volume more, respectively. Normality tests (Shapiro–Wilk) for Vt and Zr indicate p < 0.001 and p < 0.01, respectively. Since these variables do not respect normal laws, unmatched Mann–Whitney tests were performed indicating a significant difference between Vt and Zr in the healthy ocular phantom models and those modelling glaucoma. To conclude, this preliminary study indicates the possibility of discriminating between healthy eyes with those with glaucoma. However, further large-scale studies involving healthy eyes and those suffering from glaucoma are necessary to generate viable models.
Described in 1941 by two New Yorker physicist brothers, KS Cole et RH Cole, who propose and publish together a new mathematical equation plotting polymers’ electrical reactance/resistance correlation, Rea/Res, named the Cole-Cole curve [1]. Since then, this method is used to know how sinusoïdal current goes through living tissues, be they vegetable or animal. Applied on the human body it is included in weighing machines to adapt sports training, for example. In medicine to evaluate many organs like lungs, breast [2] or skin tumours, heart and brain or to separate normal from tumoral cells. In Clinical Ophthalmology to our knowledge, they are not yet similar papers. At the present time PubMed, key words are for first eye impedance or eye and clinical impedance spectroscopy, in August 2021, 22 references without strict IER correlations and then none. Closest publications are Fukuda [3] to quantify corneal defects, Jürgens [4] about in vitro eye impedance and CA Gutierrez [5] about lens hydratation. In the University Eye Clinic electrophysiology lab, Lausanne Switzerland, together with MVM [6] and Fabrinal [7] we have modified the ERG-Jet (electroretinogram) contact lens from an electric retinal captor to an emitting electrical injector, thus describing and creating sure IER scientific basic data to obtain acceptable impedance ocular signal/noise recordings. Our first results show this method is easy to use, quick and without discomfort. Furthemore we found Rea/Res age-dependent [8]. Now we are in the process of collecting normal IER values on healthy young people to evaluate sensitivity then specificity. In the recent Springer paper [9] we describe a phantom glaucoma model to simulate extra/intra cell water concentrations in the ocular anterior chamber. Therefore, we found this pilot study a good predictive model. That is the reason why we presume that this relatively new IER providing Cole-Cole ocular curve can probably be a useful complementary tool to understand glaucomas and/or other ophthalmic diseases where extra/intra cell water concentrations are abnormal.
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