Thermal modelling of the human eye exposed to laser radiation

Nowadays, various lasers are widely used in medical surgery procedures involving the human eye. The most important issue with laser eye surgery is estimation of temperature rise in eye tissues due to absorption of high intensity laser radiation. Model of the human eye, using the finite elements method, is developed in order to study the temperature distribution in the human eye subjected to radiation by several lasers, covering the electromagnetic spectrum from ultraviolet to visible and infrared. The mathematical model is based on the space-time dependent Pennes’ bioheat transfer equation supplemented with natural boundary condition equations for cornea and sclera. The results could prove to be useful in predicting the damage to intraocular tissues due to heating by laser radiation, but alongside the thermal effects, it could be used to evaluate other interaction mechanisms, such as photoablation, plasma-induced ablation and photodisruption.