Biomedical Photonics (Apr 2018)
METHOD OF NON-CONTACT PHOTOLUMINESCENT DIAGNOSTICS OF THE EYE FIBROUS TUNIC CONDITION
Abstract
Non-contact optical diagnostics of structural disorders of the eye has a number of advantages: high speed, accuracy and a large range of parameters available for analysis. The paper presents the results of studies of the photoluminescence of the fibrous tunic of the eye, excited by polarized light, depending on the intraocular pressure. In the experiments, isolated de-epithelized eyes of the rabbit were used, inside of which pressure up to 50 mm Hg was artificially created. Under these conditions, the cornea and sclera were illuminated with linearly polarized light at wavelengths of 250, 350 and 450 nm, exciting photoluminescence in the wavelength range up to 700 nm. Cross and co-polarized photoluminescence spectra excited by linearly polarized light were obtained. It has been established that, when excited by polarized light, the photoluminescence of the cornea is partially polarized. Depending on the wavelength of the photoluminescence, the degree of polarization varies from 0.2 to 0.35. It is shown that the degree of polarization of the photoluminescence of the cornea of the eye upon excitation by linearly polarized light can be used as a measurable parameter for assessing the physiological state of the eye. It is shown that the photoluminescence spectrum consists of two bands with maxima near 460-470 and 430-440 nm. These bands are assigned, respectively, to pyridinnucleotides and glycosylated collagen. A significant contribution can be made by the epithelium of the eye, which contains riboflavin with characteristic absorption bands near 450 and 365 nm. When excited at 450 nm, the photoluminescence maximum is located near 540 nm, which corresponds to the spectrum of fluorophores in the endothelium and epithelium. The spectrum of photoluminescence upon excitation at a wavelength of 250 nm can be attributed to tryptophan located in the intraocular lens.
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