The winner of the VPHi Best Thesis Award 2025 Elena Redaelli from the University of Zaragoza will present her work on "Characterizing patient-specific corneal biomechanics: high fidelity modeling and artificial intelligence techniques" during a live streaming from the 8th VPH Summer School in Barcelona on Monday 2 June 2025, 14:30-15:30 CEST.
Abstract: The interaction between the optical and biomechanical properties of the cornea governs the way the eye refracts and focuses light onto the retina. The mechanical properties of corneal tissue vary among individuals and can change over time due to various factors such as ocular growth, aging, and pathologies like keratoconus. Traditional in-vitro methods for estimating the mechanical properties of the corneal tissue are limited in replicating natural corneal conditions and individual variability. Using data from the Corvis ST tonometer, which records corneal deformation under an air puff, a 3D Fluid-Structure Interaction (FSI) model is developed to simulate and analyze the deformation process. A new method to estimate IOP, based on mechanical energy and apex velocity, is presented improving accuracy with respect to current methodologies by reducing dependence on corneal properties. To achieve real-time results, a Reduced Order Model (ROM) is created from simulation data, and combined with an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) to predict the mechanical properties of the corneal tissue in-vivo. This approach enables fast, patient-specific corneal assessment during clinical exams.
Biosketch: Elena Redaelli is a postdoctoral research fellow at Instituto de Optica Daza de Valdes, CSIC, Madrid. She graduated in biomedical engineering in April 2021 at Politecnico di Milano and, in September 2024, she earned a PhD in biomedical engineering from the University of Zaragoza through a European Marie Skłodowska-Curie Network Grant (OBERON). During her PhD she specialized in structural, fluid-dynamic, and fluid-structural interaction modeling for nonlinear mechanical problems, especially for corneal tissue. Moreover, she specialized in Artificial Intelligence techniques and reduced order modeling for real-time estimation of human corneal tissue mechanical properties.
