OPTIC NERVE HEAD HEMODYNAMICS: COMPUTATIONAL SIMULATIONS AND PHOTOACOUSTIC IMAGING

Abstract

This thesis aims to characterize the ocular hemodynamics, particularly at the lamina cribrosa (LC), by means of computational simulations and ex vivo experiments. The first part of this thesis explains the use computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to investigate the importance of clinically measurable LC’s morphological parameters in hemodynamics. The second part of this thesis models the solid-fluid interaction of the eye tissue and LC microcapillaries to determine the extent that biomechanical forces affect ONH blood flow. The last part of this thesis demonstrates the measurement of the ONH blood flow using photoacoustic imaging modality.

We found that the smaller LC diameter, higher arterial blood pressure and lower venous pressure significantly increases the oxygen concentration of the LC. Also, superior-inferior regions of the LC are more prone to hypoxia.