Julie Whitcomb

B.S University of Wisconsin-Madison
Mathematics and Applied Physics, 2003

Mechanical Engineering, Graduate Student
University of Minnesota

whit0802@umn.edu

RESEARCH

Mechanical Properties of the Passive vs. Stimulated Iris

Quantification of the mechanical properties of the iris is necessary to assess the clinical significance of passive iris deformation, which has been suggested as a mechanism for certain forms of glaucoma. The research that I am currently involved in will study the different mechanical and stiffness properties of the passive and stimulated iris due to pharmaceutical drugs. The effect of various drugs will stimulate mydriasis (dilation) and miosis (contraction) of the iris. These different contractions engage the two constituent muscles of the iris, the sphincter iridis and dilator pupillae. The mechanical analysis of the iris requires the consideration of the alignment of the two muscle fibers since the sphincter is primarily aligned in the azimuthal direction and the dilator muscle fiber is aligned in the radial direction. Thus hopefully my investigation will help quantify the net forces on an active iris giving more insight on how the anterior eye can be modeled and eventually lead to a more effective treatment for primary angle closure glaucoma.