Image-Based Inverse Modeling Analysis of Iris Stiffness Across Sex in Patients With a History of Primary Angle-Closure Disease

• Published in: ASME Open Journal of Engineering Vol. 4; no. 4
• Main Authors: Sebastian, Frederick, DelCiello, Hayden, Pant, Anup D., Girard, Michaël J. A., Pathak-Ray, Vanita, Dorairaj, Syril K., Amini, Rouzbeh
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: ASME 01.01.2025
• Subjects: eye; biomechanics; glaucoma; bioengineering; engineering education
• ISSN: 2770-3495; 2770-3495
• DOI: 10.1115/1.4068677

In this study, we quantified differences in iris stiffness between female and male subjects in healthy and postlaser peripheral iridotomy (post-LPI) groups using an image-based inverse modeling approach. We analyzed anterior segment optical coherence tomography (AS-OCT) images from 25 participants across four groups. Finite element models were created using **solidworks, **abaqus, and a custom C program, modeling the iris as a neo-Hookean material. We found that post-LPI females had significantly higher normalized elastic modulus (E′=3.81±1.74) than healthy females (E′=0.92±0.31,p=0.004), while no significant difference was observed in males. Post-LPI females also showed significantly higher stiffness than post-LPI males (p=0.003). Here, p denotes the probability value, with p<0.05 considered statistically significant. Our findings suggest that sex-based differences in iris biomechanics may contribute to the higher susceptibility of females to primary angle-closure disease. Despite the small sample size, this preliminary study highlights the need for larger, sex-stratified investigations into glaucoma pathophysiology.