Tear film rupture on the corneal surface plays a critical role in ocular health and visual comfort. Conventional theoretical approaches often idealize the cornea as a perfectly smooth surface, ignoring the surface roughness that are characteristic of healthy as well as diseased eyes. In this study, we develop a comprehensive mathematical model to investigate tear film dynamics over the corneal surface incorporating the effects of surface roughness, slip, van der Waals forces, and lipid transport at the film-air interface. The corneal surface is represented by a small-amplitude periodic modulation. Steady-state solutions obtained using asymptotics reveal nonlinear corrections to the base profile at $O(η^2)$, which are confirmed numerically. Linear stability analysis performed using the Floquet theory demonstrates that an increase in the amplitude of roughness destabilizes the film. Specifically, both the dominant growth rate and the most unstable wavenumber increase with the roughness amplitude. Nonlinear simulations show that surface roughness significantly accelerates tear-film rupture. The slip coefficient, amplitude of roughness of the corneal surface and the initial film profil
Models of the fluid-structure interaction (FSI) model for the air puff test were analysed. Using Abaqus, the air puff test is applied to eyes with varying biomechanical parameters, such as material properties, corneal thickness, and radius. A reduced order model of the air puff (a turbulent impinging jet) has been acquired to decrease simulation time from 48 hours for the FSI model to approximately 12 minutes for the finite element analysis (FEA) model alone. To further accelerate simulations and improve model accuracy, Physics-Informed Neural Networks (PINNs) will be integrated with the reduced-order model. This hybrid approach will help expand the model to a larger dataset, enhancing intraocular pressure (IOP) estimation accuracy and the corneal material properties algorithm through inverse FEA. Additionally, a neural network (NN) framework with embedded Gaussian-modulated waveforms is proposed to model the pressure and deformation distributions on the corneal surface as functions of spatial and temporal parameters. By learning the relationship between corneal biomechanical inputs such as Corneal Central Thickness (CCT), Intraocular Pressure (IOP), and baseline properties (Mu), a
We propose an inverse biomechanical design framework for sectorial customized corneal crosslinking in keratoconus. The cornea is modeled as an anisotropic reduced shell with spatially varying crosslinking-induced stiffening, enabling the optimization of localized treatment patterns rather than uniform irradiation profiles. Numerical simulations show that sectorial stiffening can redistribute curvature, reduce localized steepening, and improve corneal regularity in decentered keratoconus models while preserving biomechanical plausibility. These results support the use of patient-specific computational planning for customized crosslinking protocols and provide a basis for future integration with corneal tomography and programmable ultraviolet delivery systems.
Training deep learning models for corneal optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging is limited by the availability of large, well-annotated datasets. We present a configurable Monte Carlo simulation framework that generates synthetic corneal B-scan optical OCT images with pixel-level five-layer segmentation labels derived directly from the simulation geometry. A five-layer corneal model with Gaussian surfaces captures curvature and thickness variability in healthy and keratoconic eyes. Each layer is assigned optical properties from the literature and light transport is simulated using Monte Carlo modeling of light transport in multi-layered tissues (MCML), while incorporating system features such as the confocal PSF and sensitivity roll-off. This approach produces over 10,000 high-resolution (1024x1024) image-label pairs and supports customization of geometry, photon count, noise, and system parameters. The resulting dataset enables systematic training, validation, and benchmarking of AI models under controlled, ground-truth conditions, providing a reproducible and scalable resource to support the development of diagnostic and surgical guidance applications in image-guided ophthal
Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is pivotal in corneal imaging for both surgical planning and diagnosis. However, high-speed acquisitions often degrade spatial resolution and increase speckle noise, posing challenges for accurate interpretation. We propose an advanced super-resolution framework leveraging diffusion model plug-and-play (PnP) priors to achieve 4x spatial resolution enhancement alongside effective denoising of OCT Bscan images. Our approach formulates reconstruction as a principled Bayesian inverse problem, combining Markov chain Monte Carlo sampling with pretrained generative priors to enforce anatomical consistency. We comprehensively validate the framework using \emph{in vivo} fisheye corneal datasets, to assess robustness and scalability under diverse clinical settings. Comparative experiments against bicubic interpolation, conventional supervised U-Net baselines, and alternative diffusion priors demonstrate that our method consistently yields more precise anatomical structures, improved delineation of corneal layers, and superior noise suppression. Quantitative results show state-of-the-art performance in peak signal-to-noise ratio, structural similarity index,
In this paper, we present CornOrb, a publicly accessible multimodal dataset of Orbscan corneal topography images and clinical annotations collected from patients in Algeria. The dataset comprises 1,454 eyes from 744 patients, including 889 normal eyes and 565 keratoconus cases. For each eye, four corneal maps are provided (axial curvature, anterior elevation, posterior elevation, and pachymetry), together with structured tabular data including demographic information and key clinical parameters such as astigmatism, maximum keratometry (Kmax), central and thinnest pachymetry, and anterior/posterior asphericity. All data were retrospectively acquired, fully anonymized, and pre-processed into standardized PNG and CSV formats to ensure direct usability for artificial intelligence research. This dataset represents one of the first large-scale Orbscan-based resources from Africa, specifically built to enable robust AI-driven detection and analysis of keratoconus using multimodal data. The data are openly available at Zenodo.
Objective: Research on eye lens dosimetry for radiation workers has increased after the 2012 ICRP118 update on eye lens dose limits. However, corneal dosimetry remains underexplored due to historical focus and measurement challenges. This study uses a high-resolution digital eye phantom in Monte Carlo simulations to estimate corneal and lens doses for nuclear medicine staff, with and without lead glasses. Method: The Monte Carlo code GATE (version 9.0) based on GEANT4 (version 10.6) was used to estimate and compare doses in a digital eye phantom, accounting for primary and scattered radiation from common radionuclides (F18, I131, Tc99m) with varying lead glass shielding (0 to 0.75 mm). Results: Across all radionuclides, the dose to the cornea was consistently higher than the dose to the lens. Notably, the ratio of corneal to lens dose increased with thicker lead glasses, indicating a greater dose reduction to the lens compared to the cornea. Conclusion: The findings show that corneal doses from all studied radionuclides exceeded lens doses. Although increasing lead glass thickness reduced both, the reduction was more significant for the lens, raising the cornea-to-lens dose ratio.
Corneal reflection (glint) detection plays an important role in pupil-corneal reflection (P-CR) eye tracking, but in practice it is often handled as heuristics embedded within larger systems, making reproducibility difficult across hardware setups. We introduce a 2D geometry-driven, constellation-based pipeline for mulit-glint detection and matching, focusing on reproducibility and clear evaluation. Inspired by lost-in-space star identification, we treat glints as structured constellations rather than independent blobs. We propose a Similarity-Layout Alignment (SLA) procedure which adapts constellation matching to the specific constraints of multi-LED eye tracking. The framework brings together controlled over-detection, adaptive candidate fallback, appearance-aware scoring, and optional semantic layout priors while keeping detection and correspondence explicitly separated. Evaluated on a public multi-LED dataset, the system provides stable identity-preserving correspondence under noisy conditions. We release code, presets, and evaluation scripts to enable transparent replication, comparison, and dataset annotation.
Corneal Confocal Microscopy (CCM) is a sensitive tool for assessing small-fiber damage in Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy (DPN), yet the development of robust, automated deep learning-based diagnostic models is limited by scarce labelled data and fine-grained variability in corneal nerve morphology. Although Artificial Intelligence (AI)-driven foundation generative models excel at natural image synthesis, they often struggle in medical imaging due to limited domain-specific training, compromising the anatomical fidelity required for clinical analysis. To overcome these limitations, we propose a Weight-Decomposed Low-Rank Adaptation (WDLoRA)-based multimodal generative framework for clinically guided CCM image synthesis. WDLoRA is a parameter-efficient fine-tuning (PEFT) mechanism that decouples magnitude and directional weight updates, enabling foundation generative models to independently learn the orientation (nerve topology) and intensity (stromal contrast) required for medical realism. By jointly conditioning on nerve segmentation masks and disease-specific clinical prompts, the model synthesises anatomically coherent images across the DPN spectrum (Control, T1NoDPN, T1DPN). A c
We present GlintMarkers, the first system to perform gaze-driven spatial perception using the inward-facing cameras on XR eyewear. Our key observation is that the cornea acts as a mirror that encodes both gaze direction and visual information about the environment in a small, low-contrast reflection. To extract spatial and semantic information from this reflection despite the camera's limited pixel budget, we present a passive retroreflective marker design that concentrates reflected near-infrared light onto the cornea, producing bright glint patterns. We develop a custom Perspective-n-Point (PnP) estimation framework adapted to corneal imaging and perform orientation and distance estimation of tagged objects, as well as unique object identification.
Objective: The mechanical properties of corneal tissues play a crucial role in determining corneal shape and have significant implications in vision care. This study aimed to address the challenge of obtaining accurate in vivo data for the human cornea. Methods: We have developed a high-frequency optical coherence elastography (OCE) technique using shear-like antisymmetric (A0)-mode Lamb waves at frequencies above 10 kHz. Results: By incorporating an anisotropic, nonlinear constitutive model and utilizing the acoustoelastic theory, we gained quantitative insights into the influence of corneal tension on wave speeds and elastic moduli. Our study revealed significant spatial variations in the shear modulus of the corneal stroma on healthy subjects for the first time. The central cornea exhibited a shear modulus of 74 kPa, while the corneal periphery showed a decrease to 41 kPa. The limbus demonstrated an increased shear modulus exceeding 100 kPa. We obtained wave displacement profiles that are consistent with highly anisotropic corneal tissues. Conclusion: Our approach enabled precise measurement of corneal tissue elastic moduli in situ with high precision (< 7%) and high spatial
Accurate assessment of corneal mechanical properties is critical for understanding ocular biomechanics, predicting refractive surgery outcomes, and optimizing cross-linking (CXL) treatments. Conventional uniaxial tensile test is limited by non-physiological boundary conditions and simplified stress distributions. Inflation testing more closely reproduces the in vivo stress state but has traditionally lacked full-field deformation mapping. In this work, we present an integrated experimental-computational protocol combining inflation testing of freshly enucleated porcine eyes with high-resolution three-dimensional digital image correlation (3D-DIC). Fifteen corneas were analyzed across three cohorts: (i) de-epithelialized controls, (ii) CXL-treated (standard Dresden protocol), and (iii) anterior stromal ablation via femtosecond laser. Samples were subjected to controlled intraocular pressure (IOP) elevations up to 40 mmHg. The 3D-DIC approach provided dense, pointwise displacement and strain maps across the anterior surface, successfully quantifying the localized stiffening effects of CXL and the increased compliance induced by stromal ablation. These full-field kinematic data were i
We present a machine learning approach for predicting the organisation of corneal, glial and fibroblast cells in 3D cultures used for tissue engineering. Our machine-learning-based method uses a powerful generative adversarial network architecture called pix2pix, which we train using results from biophysical contractile network dipole orientation (CONDOR) simulations. In the following, we refer to the machine learning method as the RAPTOR (RApid Prediction of Tissue ORganisation) approach. A training data set containing a range of CONDOR simulations is created, covering a range of underlying model parameters. Validation of the trained neural network is carried out by comparing predictions with cultured glial, corneal, and fibroblast tissues, with good agreements for both CONDOR and RAPTOR approaches. An approach is developed to determine CONDOR model parameters for specific tissues using a fit to tissue properties. RAPTOR outputs a variety of tissue properties, including cell densities of cell alignments and tension. Since it is fast, it could be valuable for the design of tethered moulds for tissue growth.
Purpose: Recently the authors presented a technique that allows corneal thickness measurements along any meridian from optical sections obtained using a rotary scanning system. This paper presents 3-D mapping of the corneal thickness and topography of both corneal surfaces, obtained with the rotary system. Method: Corneal thickness and topography are computed from optical sections obtained by illumination with a collimated beam expanded in a fan by a small cylindrical lens. This lens is provided with motor driven rotation in order to perform automated rotary scan of the whole cornea. Two cameras are used to capture the images of the optical sections. Results: With this system it is possible to obtain 3-D representation of the corneal thickness as well as corneal topography. Corneal thickness and elevation maps are shown. Conclusions: Although still under development, this new optical system allows the measurement of the thickness of the whole cornea as well as 3-D mapping of both corneal surfaces.
Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy (DPN) affects nearly half of diabetes patients, requiring early detection. Corneal Confocal Microscopy (CCM) enables non-invasive diagnosis, but automated methods suffer from inefficient feature extraction, reliance on handcrafted priors, and data limitations. We propose HMSViT, a novel Hierarchical Masked Self-Supervised Vision Transformer (HMSViT) designed for corneal nerve segmentation and DPN diagnosis. Unlike existing methods, HMSViT employs pooling-based hierarchical and dual attention mechanisms with absolute positional encoding, enabling efficient multi-scale feature extraction by capturing fine-grained local details in early layers and integrating global context in deeper layers, all at a lower computational cost. A block-masked self supervised learning framework is designed for the HMSViT that reduces reliance on labelled data, enhancing feature robustness, while a multi-scale decoder is used for segmentation and classification by fusing hierarchical features. Experiments on clinical CCM datasets showed HMSViT achieves state-of-the-art performance, with 61.34% mIoU for nerve segmentation and 70.40% diagnostic accuracy, outperforming leading
The contact specular microscope has a wider angle of view than that of the non-contact specular microscope but still cannot capture an image of the entire cornea. To obtain such an image, it is necessary to prepare film on the parts of the image captured sequentially and combine them to create a complete image. This study proposes a framework to automatically generate an entire corneal image from videos captured using a contact specular microscope. Relatively focused images were extracted from the videos and panoramic compositing was performed. If an entire image can be generated, it is possible to detect guttae from the image and examine the extent of their presence. The system was implemented and the effectiveness of the proposed framework was examined. The system was implemented using custom-made composite software, Image Composite Software (ICS, K.I. Technology Co., Ltd., Japan, internal algorithms not disclosed), and a supervised learning model using U-Net was used for guttae detection. Several images were correctly synthesized when the constructed system was applied to 94 different corneal videos obtained from Fuchs endothelial corneal dystrophy (FECD) mouse model. The implem
Keratitis is an inflammatory corneal condition responsible for 10% of visual impairment in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), with bacteria, fungi, or amoeba as the most common infection etiologies. While an accurate and timely diagnosis is crucial for the selected treatment and the patients' sight outcomes, due to the high cost and limited availability of laboratory diagnostics in LMICs, diagnosis is often made by clinical observation alone, despite its lower accuracy. In this study, we investigate and compare different deep learning approaches to diagnose the source of infection: 1) three separate binary models for infection type predictions; 2) a multitask model with a shared backbone and three parallel classification layers (Multitask V1); and, 3) a multitask model with a shared backbone and a multi-head classification layer (Multitask V2). We used a private Brazilian cornea dataset to conduct the empirical evaluation. We achieved the best results with Multitask V2, with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) confidence intervals of 0.7413-0.7740 (bacteria), 0.8395-0.8725 (fungi), and 0.9448-0.9616 (amoeba). A statistical analysis of the impact
A stable shape for corneas experiencing refractive surgery has to be sustained so as to elude post-refractive surgery de-compensation. This de-compensation leads to visual complications and unsatisfactory procedure recovery. Variation in corneal lamellae and collagen fibres is induced by recent LASER refractive surgical procedures utilizing LASER ablation and disruption techniques. Conserving a steady response of central apex flattening and peripheral steepening in an elastic cornea pre- and post- procedure is the ultimate purpose of successful refractive surgery. Early diagnosis of ectatic corneal disorders and better understanding of corneal pathogenesis is achieved by assessment of corneal biomechanical properties. The ultimate objective of this research is to estimate the biomechanical properties for both normal and pathogenic corneal tissue pre- and post-operative refractive surgery. This achieved using ultrasonic acoustic radiation force impulse as a non-invasive method accounting for its high localization. Induced displacement tracking methods will be utilized for assessment of soft tissue biomechanical properties related to the investigated soft tissue. Ultrasound probe sim
When the cornea becomes hydrated above its physiologic level it begins to significantly scatter light, loosing transparency and thus impairing eyesight. This condition, known as corneal edema, can be associated with different causes, such as corneal scarring, corneal infection, corneal inflammation, and others, making it difficult to diagnose and quantify. Previous works have shown that Second Harmonic Generation Microscopy (SHG) represents a valuable non-linear optical imaging tool to non-invasively identify and monitor changes in the collagen architecture of the cornea, potentially playing a pivotal role in future in-vivo cornea diagnostic methods. However, the interpretation of SHG data can pose significant problems when transferring such approaches to clinical settings, given the low availability of public data sets, and training resources. In this work we explore the use of three Deep Learning models, the highly popular InceptionV3 and ResNet50, alongside FLIMBA, a custom developed architecture, requiring no pre-training, to automatically detect corneal edema in SHG images of porcine cornea. We discuss and evaluate data augmentation strategies tuned to the specifics of the her
Corneal thickness (pachymetry) maps can be used to monitor restoration of corneal endothelial function, for example after Descemet's membrane endothelial keratoplasty (DMEK). Automated delineation of the corneal interfaces in anterior segment optical coherence tomography (AS-OCT) can be challenging for corneas that are irregularly shaped due to pathology, or as a consequence of surgery, leading to incorrect thickness measurements. In this research, deep learning is used to automatically delineate the corneal interfaces and measure corneal thickness with high accuracy in post-DMEK AS-OCT B-scans. Three different deep learning strategies were developed based on 960 B-scans from 50 patients. On an independent test set of 320 B-scans, corneal thickness could be measured with an error of 13.98 to 15.50 micrometer for the central 9 mm range, which is less than 3% of the average corneal thickness. The accurate thickness measurements were used to construct detailed pachymetry maps. Moreover, follow-up scans could be registered based on anatomical landmarks to obtain differential pachymetry maps. These maps may enable a more comprehensive understanding of the restoration of the endothelial