FROM THE EDITORS
Corneal biomechanics: A decade later It has been nearly 10 years since the Journal of Cataract & Refractive Surgery first dedicated a special issue to the topic of corneal biomechanics. While corneal biomechanics was by no means a fledgling field at that time, it was a predominantly academic discipline on the brink of becoming a more translational enterprise. In the decade leading up to the printing of the special issue in January 2005, only about 10 papers per year across all indexed journals explicitly cited “cornea” and “biomechanics” (Figure 1, data exported from Scopus search performed March 30, 2014). Not unexpectedly, this number was doubled in 2005 and some of the special issue papers that contributed to this historical high are now listed among JCRS's most frequently cited articles. The subsequent increase in related publications to somewhere between 80 and 100 per year can probably be attributed to a major translational shift in the field, enabled in part by the commercial introduction of a clinical device for biomechanical measurement1 and worldwide dissemination of a biomechanical approach to treating corneal ectasia.2 We are pleased to present another issue dedicated to this rapidly changing field. The papers represent a broad range of themes that reflect recent progress, with most papers culled from unsolicited original papers and reviews. A major theme is assessment of the biomechanical impact of collagen crosslinking pro-
cedures, refractive surgeries, and new (sometimes combined) approaches within each of these categories. Several papers also investigate the diagnostic value of newer biomechanical variables derived from existing commercial instrumentation or present experimental data on novel biomechanical measurement approaches. Review articles address progress in in vivo corneal biomechanical measurement, the mechanics of ectasia and its treatment, and common misconceptions in corneal biomechanics, and several original papers seek to better define the variables that influence and sometimes confound biomechanical measurement. While this special issue does not aspire to be comprehensive, we do hope it inspires enthusiasm for the subject and fosters further progress in clinical applications. William J. Dupps Jr, MD, PhD Cynthia J. Roberts, PhD REFERENCES 1. Luce DA. Determining in vivo biomechanical properties of the cornea with an ocular response analyzer. J Cataract Refract Surg 2005; 31:156–162 2. Wollensak G, Spoerl E, Seiler T. Riboflavin/ultraviolet-A–induced collagen crosslinking for the treatment of keratoconus. Am J Ophthalmol 2003; 135:620–627. Available at: http://grmc.ca/assets/ files/collagen_crosslinking_2003_wollensak.pdf. Accessed April 2, 2014
Figure 1. Number of corneal biomechanics papers published by year (data from Scopus).
Q 2014 ASCRS and ESCRS Published by Elsevier Inc.
0886-3350/$ - see front matter http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jcrs.2014.04.012
857
Corneal biomechanics: A decade later It has been nearly 10 years since the Journal of Cataract & Refractive Surgery first dedicated a special issue to the topic of corneal biomechanics. While corneal biomechanics was by no means a fledgling field at that time, it was a predominantly academic discipline on the brink of becoming a more translational enterprise. In the decade leading up to the printing of the special issue in January 2005, only about 10 papers per year across all indexed journals explicitly cited “cornea” and “biomechanics” (Figure 1, data exported from Scopus search performed March 30, 2014). Not unexpectedly, this number was doubled in 2005 and some of the special issue papers that contributed to this historical high are now listed among JCRS's most frequently cited articles. The subsequent increase in related publications to somewhere between 80 and 100 per year can probably be attributed to a major translational shift in the field, enabled in part by the commercial introduction of a clinical device for biomechanical measurement1 and worldwide dissemination of a biomechanical approach to treating corneal ectasia.2 We are pleased to present another issue dedicated to this rapidly changing field. The papers represent a broad range of themes that reflect recent progress, with most papers culled from unsolicited original papers and reviews. A major theme is assessment of the biomechanical impact of collagen crosslinking pro-
cedures, refractive surgeries, and new (sometimes combined) approaches within each of these categories. Several papers also investigate the diagnostic value of newer biomechanical variables derived from existing commercial instrumentation or present experimental data on novel biomechanical measurement approaches. Review articles address progress in in vivo corneal biomechanical measurement, the mechanics of ectasia and its treatment, and common misconceptions in corneal biomechanics, and several original papers seek to better define the variables that influence and sometimes confound biomechanical measurement. While this special issue does not aspire to be comprehensive, we do hope it inspires enthusiasm for the subject and fosters further progress in clinical applications. William J. Dupps Jr, MD, PhD Cynthia J. Roberts, PhD REFERENCES 1. Luce DA. Determining in vivo biomechanical properties of the cornea with an ocular response analyzer. J Cataract Refract Surg 2005; 31:156–162 2. Wollensak G, Spoerl E, Seiler T. Riboflavin/ultraviolet-A–induced collagen crosslinking for the treatment of keratoconus. Am J Ophthalmol 2003; 135:620–627. Available at: http://grmc.ca/assets/ files/collagen_crosslinking_2003_wollensak.pdf. Accessed April 2, 2014
Figure 1. Number of corneal biomechanics papers published by year (data from Scopus).
Q 2014 ASCRS and ESCRS Published by Elsevier Inc.
0886-3350/$ - see front matter http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jcrs.2014.04.012
857
