Temperature-induced corneal shrinkage

Thermokeratoplasty is a procedure utilizing heat to reshape the surface of the cornea through shrinkage of collagen within the stroma. We have constructed an apparatus for measurements of thermally induced corneal shrinkage. Using this apparatus, we have defined the cornea shrinkage rate and examined the relationships between age, shock temperature, and shock temperature duration to the amount of shrinkage on fifteen corneal strips from Eye-Bank eyes. The results show that less heat energy was required to induce shrinkage in older corneas, that acute shrinkage increases with increasing shock temperature and that shrinkage increases with increasing shock temperature duration.