Ultrasound techniques for lens hardness characterization: A comparison study

Cataract affects more than 20 million people worldwide and is the leading cause of vision loss. Currently, the phacoemulsification is the most used procedure to extract cataract and recover visual acuity. Optimal phacoemulsification energy is demanded for safety cataract removal. It is well established that the energy value is determined by the cataract hardness. In this study twenty porcine eyes were used as experimental samples. Cataract was induced by an ethanol:2-propanol:formalin solution. A 25 MHz focused transducer has been used to estimate the ultrasound velocity and attenuation. Statistical analysis was performed to compare the different used methodologies and to correlate the different ultrasound parameters with different stages of cataract formation (lens hardness).