Aqueous humor dynamics in human eyes: a lattice Boltzmann study

TL;DR

This study develops a lattice Boltzmann model to simulate aqueous humor dynamics in human eyes, analyzing factors affecting intraocular pressure and flow patterns, with implications for healthy and pathological conditions.

Contribution

The paper introduces a stable, convergent lattice Boltzmann model for AH flow, incorporating heat convection, buoyancy, and permeability effects, providing new insights into intraocular pressure regulation.

Findings

Heat convection significantly affects flow patterns.

IOP can be controlled by anatomical and secretion factors.

Viscosity has minimal impact on IOP.

Abstract

This paper presents a lattice Boltzmann model to simulate the aqueous humor (AH) dynamics in the human eyes by involving incompressible Navier-Stokes flow, heat convection and diffusion, and Darcy seepage flow. Verifying simulations indicate that the model is stable, convergent and robust. Further investigations were carried out, including the effects of heat convection and buoyancy, AH production rate, permeability of trabecular meshwork, viscosity of AH and anterior chamber angle on intraocular pressure (IOP). The heat convection and diffusion can significantly affect the flow patterns in the healthy eye, and the IOP can be controlled by increasing the anterior chamber angle or decreasing the secretion rate, the drainage resistance and viscosity of AH. However, the IOP is insensitive to the viscosity of the AH, which may be one of the causes that the viscosity would not have been considered as a factor for controlling the IOP. It's interesting that all these factors have more significant influences on the IOP in pathologic eyes than healthy ones. The temperature difference and the eye-orientation have obvious influence on the cornea and iris wall shear stresses. The present model and simulation results are expected to provide an alternative tool and theoretical reference for the study of AH dynamics.