Dear Colleagues,

Diseases often induce a microstructural re-organization of tissue, leading to altered macroscopic biomechanical properties. Measuring the latter is therefore highly relevant for clinical diagnosis. In contrast to destructive mechanical testing, biomechanical imaging brings the advantage of being non-invasive and applicable in vivo.

In Ophthalmology, an emphasis lies on optical imaging technologies as they permit high-speed acquisition, high spatial resolution, and require no contact and as such allow precise analysis while being convenient for the patient.

In recent years, different approaches based on optical coherence tomography, Brillouin microscopy, dynamic Scheimpflug imaging, and ultrasound have been developed to characterize corneal biomechanics, with the aim of diagnosing corneal ectasia and glaucoma. Most of these imaging techniques require additional external mechanical excitation (shear wave analysis, air-puff indentation, quasi-static deformation, vibrography), or potentially an internal excitation stimulus (heartbeat). Alternatively, Brillouin scattering is based on nonlinear optics and inherently related to tissue stiffness.

So far, the largest efforts have been made to determine tissue stiffness (elastic modulus) from biomechanical imaging, even though more recent studies have also looked into the effect of viscoelastic properties (e.g., dispersion). Current limitations hampering clinical meaningfulness include the dependency on intraocular pressure, corneal thickness, tissue hydration level, and boundary conditions. Therefore, interpretation of the imaged signal often demands for inverse modeling to retrieve material parameters.

This Special Issue aims at providing an overview of the most recent findings and approaches of biomechanical imaging in ophthalmology that either are promising for in vivo application or relevant to interpret in vivo measurement signals. In particular, authors are invited to submit their original and review articles in the areas of:

• Non-invasive and non-contact biomechanical imaging technologies;
• Internal and external mechanical excitation stimuli;
• Macroscopic and microscopic biomechanical imaging approaches;
• Quasi-static and dynamic elastography;
• Microstructural tissue organization and deformation;
• Inverse modeling.

Dr. Sabine Kling
Guest Editor

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• Optical coherence tomography
• Elastography
• Brillouin microscopy
• Second harmonic generation microscopy
• High-speed deformation imaging
• Ocular biomechanics
• Corneal ectasia
• Glaucoma