Eye-Specific Measurement of the Microstructure and Biomechanics of the Human Lamina Cribrosa

Loss of vision in glaucoma, one of the leading causes of blindness worldwide, is due to damage to the axons of cells that transmit visual information from the retina to the brain [1]. This damage is believed to initiate in the lamina cribrosa (LC), a specialized structure in the back of the eye. Elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) is the main risk factor for the development of glaucoma, yet the mechanisms by which an elevated IOP leads to loss of vision are not understood. This is, in part, because measuring directly the effects of IOP on the LC is very challenging. Thus most of what is known about the structure of the LC and of the effects of IOP on it has been determined from indirect measures or from analysis of histological samples. Histological analysis, however, is problematic because it susceptible to artifacts, such as shrinkage and warping.