Posters

New method of analyzing cataractous lenses obtained during phacoemulsification procedure

Poster Details

First Author: P.Chaniecki POLAND

Co Author(s):    J. Lekki   J. Miszczyk   J. Adamczyk   T. Pieprzyca   M. Rekas   C. Paluszkiewicz     

Abstract Details

Purpose:

The only effective way of treating cataract is surgery. Phacoemulsification is one of the most popular surgical procedures in the world. During the intervention the phaco-probe emulsifies the lens into pieces that are usually disposed after surgery. Currently spectroscopic methods are ordinarily applied for studying biological materials. The Particle-induced X-ray emission analysis (PIXE) has been used to determine the distribution of trace elements in a wide range of samples. The study attempts to determine the amount of micronutrients in cataractous shredded human lens material and its correlations to sex, age, best corrected vision acuity, intraocular pressure, severity of lens opacification.

Setting:

The project has been supported by National Science Centre Poland, decision no. DEC-2012/05/B/ST4/01150. The procedures of phacoemulsification were performed at the Military Hospitals in Cracow and Warsaw. Obtained shredded lenses were forwarded to the Institute of Nuclear Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences in Cracow (IFJ PAN) for further investigation.

Methods:

In the study 101 randomly selected dispersed human lenses were examined. After appropriate preparation, the material was analyzed by microPIXE (�Â�µPIXE) using a tightly focused beam of protons (20 �Â�µm of diameter) from the IFJ PAN Van de Graaff accelerator. In order to avoid protons scattering, experiment was performed in vacuum conditions. In a single measurement the area of 256 x 256�â�€�¯�Î�¼m�Â�² was scanned. The induced X-ray emission spectra were registered by the Si(Li) semiconductor detector. Data were collected by the IFJ PAN data acquisition system and analyzed using the GUPIX software.

Results:

For detailed analysis, Calcium, Iron, and Zinc were selected due to the highest accuracy and reliability of measurements. The average observational errors were <1% for Ca, 4% for Zn and 22% for Fe. The mean concentration of Calcium was 702ppm, whereas the results displayed a wide range of values from ~140ppm to ~2000ppm. The mean concentration of Iron was 7 ppm and Zinc 113ppm, distributed in a range from 0 to 41ppm and from 15 to 665ppm, respectively. No differences were determined between the micronutrients in relations to�Â� sex. No correlation was found between investigated parameters (p< 0,05).

Conclusions:

The material obtained during phacoemulsification is suitable for determination of trace elements in human lenses using the �Â�µPiXE analysis. PIXE proved numerous advantages in determining the distribution of trace elements (micronutrients) due to its high accuracy, reliability, simplicity of the sample preparation, amount of information obtained in a single measurement and a non-destructive character.

Financial Disclosure:

NONE