Numerical Prediction of Airbag Caused Injuries on Eyeballs After Radial Keratotomy

The paper reports the results of a project investigating means to predict injury risk created by impacting airbags on eyeballs healed after radial keratotomy surgery. In the first phase of the project, a finite element model of an intact eyeball was prepared. Due of the lack of experimental data to calibrate biomechanical models, the model was validated for impact loading using a series of clinical observations related to perforations of the eyeball by small debris from industrial machines. Typical impacts were simulated over the range of observations and the critical dimensions of impacting debris perforating the cornea and the sclera, as observed clinically, were properly predicted numerically. In the second phase, the model of the intact eyeball was altered to introduce radial keratotomy scars. The simulation of impacting airbag were used to determine the loading on the eye and assess the injury risks based on the strains in the eye tissues.