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Description
The vitreous body is a transparent, highly hydrated tissue of spherical shape that is located between the lens and the retina in the ocular apparatus. In healthy conditions, the vitreous fills the ocular cavity and acts as a mechanical damper for the fluid’s motions in response to the saccadic eye movements [1]. The aging process, however, can impact negatively its biological functionality, making it opaque and unable to dampen the fluid shear stresses, due to the liquefaction of the vitreous and the formation of fluid pockets inside the tissue [2].
We propose a chemo-mechanical model that describes liquefaction as an alteration to the swelling phenomena occurring in the tissue under study, which is studied as a solid-fluid mixture, so that as time passes some regions of the vitreous are no more able to contain the fluid that was previously swollen. In particular, we investigate the relation between the volume occupied by the fluid and the balance of the osmotic and elastic forces.
References:
[1] M. Levin and N. Cohen, “The effects of aging on the mechanical properties of the vitreous”, Journal of Biomechanics, 2021.
[2] J. Sebag et al., 2014, “Vitreous: in Health and Disease”. Springer New York.