To estimate the relationship between the characteristics of the corneal pulse (CP) signal and those of the fundus pulse (FP) signal measured with a combined noncontact ultrasonic and laser interferometry technique in healthy subjects.
Twenty-two healthy subjects participated in experiments that included measurements of intraocular pressure, ocular pulse amplitude, ocular biometry, blood pressure, and heart rate. Additionally, simultaneous recordings of CP and FP signals were acquired with a noncontact ultrasonic device combined with laser interferometry. Subsequently, ocular perfusion pressure (OPP) and the time and spectral parameters of CP and FP signals were computed. A system model was proposed to relate the FP signal to the CP signal.
The system model revealed that the eye globe transfers information between signals of the posterior and anterior eye, relatively amplifying higher spectral harmonics. The amplitude of the second CP harmonic is predicted by FP RMS and OPP ( R 2 = 0.468, P = 0.002). Partial correlation analysis showed that the CP signal parameters are statistically significantly correlated with those of the FP signal and OPP, after correcting for age and sex.