MEASUREMENT OF ELASTIC-MODULUS OF THE BOVINE CORNEA BY MEANS OF HOLOGRAPHIC-INTERFEROMETRY .1. METHOD AND EXPERIMENT

Holographic interferometry of the cornea of fresh, enucleated bovine e yes placed in air was used for determination of the elastic modulus of the central part of the cornea. The high sensitivity of the method en ables measurement of the radial distension of the cornea even for intr aocular pressure (IOP) changes equal to 5 Pa (0.05 mbar or almost-equa l-to 0.0375 mm Hg). The method of calculation of the tangent Young's m odulus of the cornea E(t), based on data obtained from double exposure as well as real-time holographic interferograms and on some geometric al data describing the form of the cornea are presented. The average v alue of E(t) amounting to 1.42 . 10(5) Pa was calculated from 2 interf erograms of the same eye.