Measuring cornea stiffness with a light-based scan in keratoconus
Measures cornea stiffness with Brillouin microscopy in adults with keratoconus, before and after treatments.
Key facts
- Who runs it
- The Cleveland Clinic
- Where
- Cleveland, United StatesSee the site
- Trial code
- Registry title
- Corneal Biomechanical Analysis Using Brillouin Microscopy
- Status
- Enrolling by invitation
- People taking part
- 220 people, planned
- Started
- 1 Jun 2021
- Expected to end
- Dec 2027
- Type of study
- Observational, 6 groups
- Treatments tested
- Brillouin microscopy
- Record updated
- 1 October 2026
Who can take part
AI summary
From the trial's eligibility criteria. Machine-read from the registry text on this page, so it can be wrong. The registry text below and the trial team decide who can take part.
The trial is looking for adults with keratoconus (a thinning, bulging cornea) or with normal corneas. This includes people about to have LASIK, PRK, SMILE or CXL eye procedures. Their cornea stiffness is measured with Brillouin microscopy.
- Age
- 18 to 60 years
- Sex
- All sexes
- Disease stage
- Keratoconus of various stages, or normal corneas. Some groups are having refractive surgery (LASIK, PRK, SMILE) or corneal cross-linking (CXL).
- Earlier treatment
- People who have had eye surgery before cannot join.
Main reasons for not taking part
- Age outside 18 to 60 years
- Past eye surgery
- Unable to cooperate with the Brillouin microscope exam
- Unable to give informed consent
The registry criteria, word for word
Show all 8 criteriaShow less
Who can take part
- patients aged 18-60 with keratoconus
- patients aged 18-60 with normal corneas,
- patients aged 18-60 undergoing refractive surgery (LASIK, PRK, SMILE)
- patients aged 18-60 with keratoconus undergoing CXL
Who cannot take part
- history of previous ocular surgeries
- outside age range
- unable to cooperate for the Brillouin microscopic examination
- unable to provide informed consent
Check if you might fit
Answer for yourself. This is not a decision: only the study team can say whether you can take part.
- Are you between 18 and 60 years old?
Where in United States
- Cleveland Clinic Cole Eye InstituteCleveland, United StatesEnrolling by invitation
About the trial
What the trial wants to find out
The objective of this study is to measure the Brillouin biomechanical properties in keratoconic corneas and characterize biomechanical alterations that occur after corneal procedures that inherently strengthen or weaken the cornea by evaluating the change in Brillouin metrics before and after treatments.
The 6 groups in the trial
- 1: Normal Controls
Patients with normal corneas without any prior surgery to serve as the control group
Treatment: Brillouin microscopy
- 2 Keratoconus
Patients with various stages of keratoconus
Treatment: Brillouin microscopy
- 3: LASIK
Patients with normal corneas who are undergoing laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK)
Treatment: Brillouin microscopy
- Group 4: PRK
Patients with normal corneas who are undergoing photorefractive keratectomy (PRK)
Treatment: Brillouin microscopy
- 5: SMILE
Patients with normal corneas who are undergoing small incision lenticular extraction (SMILE)
Treatment: Brillouin microscopy
- 6: CXL
Patients with keratoconus who are undergoing corneal cross-linking (CXL)
Treatment: Brillouin microscopy
Questions to ask the study team
- How often do I need to come in, and for how long each time?
- Are travel costs paid?
- Can I keep my own doctor?
- What happens if I want to stop?
Contact the study team: see the registry record → Contacts and Locations
Print a page for my doctorData and sources
- Registry record
- Listed on ClinicalTrials.gov.
- Official title
- Corneal Biomechanical Analysis Using Brillouin Microscopy
- Plain-language title
- Measuring cornea stiffness with a light-based scan in keratoconusGenerated from the registry record. The registry title is the official one.
- AI summary
- From the trial's eligibility criteria. Read by machine on 15 November 2026.
- Fit questions
- Built from NCT04598932, who can take part
- Record updated
- 1 October 2026