In conclusion, our study indicates that the biomechanical properties of the scleral coat, in terms of stretching and AL elongation, are measurable. The hypermetropic and emmetropic eyes possessed stiff sclera. The extent of AL remained practically unchanged during IOP elevation in these eyes. The absolute majority of the myopic eyes revealed a biomechanical weakness of the scleral shell. A higher degree of myopia was associated with increased AL elongation. Our approach to measuring the biomechanical properties of the sclera may have clinical significance in the future.

Depth of focus correlates to normal levels of visual acuity. The higher the visual acuity, the lower the depth of focus. The ability of clear vision due to depth of focus-pseudoaccommodation is passive function. Separating the pseudoaccommodation from artificial accommodation in eyes with accommodative IOLs requires strict standardization of methodology especially regarding diameter of pupil, size of test objects, and level of illumination.

The general epidemiological acceptability of prevalence, or incidence, for assessing risk of radiation cataract development has dictated an almost exclusive dependence on cataract onset as a measure of cataractogenicity for given doses of radiation. The advent of instrumentation capable of acquiring images amenable to quantitative analyses offers the possibility of exploiting "relative opacification" as an added, if not exclusive, parameter. This development is particularly important in efforts to assess populations such as that in the Altai, which are temporally far removed from their exposure and among whom there exists a large subset with extant cataracts. The new technologies, Scheimpflug and retroillumination imaging, combined with the application of the appropriate analytical algorithms can not only provide quantitative and nonsubjective assessment of lens transparency, but also serve as a means to immortalize the state of the pathology at the time of acquisition. Highly relevant to the assessment of an aging exposed population is the use of lens epithelial fragments as potential dosimeters. The material is routinely available as a result of cataract extraction procedures and is amenable to the application of a modified micronucleus (MN) assay. The MN assay in the lens has tremendous advantages over its use in other tissues for a number of reasons, not least of which is that lens MNs are extremely long-lived. Given the relative ease of application and its potential as a radiation bioindicator, the lens MN assay should be considered in any follow-up of populations exposed to ionizing radiation.