The influence of the collagen architecture on the mechanical response of the human cornea

The hierarchical architecture of the stromal collagen is strictly related to the optical function of the human cornea. The basic features of the corneal collagen organization have been known for a while, but recently the advance of optical imaging has revealed changes across the thickness that might be related to particular aspects of the corneal behavior. It is worth to investigate whether the actual structure possesses some relevance in the overall mechanical behavior of the cornea and whether it should not be disregarded in computational models with predictive purposes. In this study, finite element analyses of the human cornea considering four different architectures of the collagen are presented. Results of the numerical simulations of quasistatic and dynamic tests are compared and discussed. © Springer International Publishing AG 2018.