In vivo three-dimensional imaging of crystalline lens sutures

Swept source OCT was used to image crystalline lens of 100 eyes (age range: 9-78 years) and 3-dimensional lens suture structure was visualized in vivo for the first time. Lens suture patterns were extracted using average intensity projections (AIP) or cortical layers of crystalline lens. Our imaging system has capacity to extract complex star-sutures from cortical layers of lens and simple Y-sutures from fetal nucleus of crystalline lens. Age-related changes in lens and lens sutures were observed and were characterized quantitatively. The developed imaging system can be used to study growth of crystalline lens and its age-related diseases like cataract, presbyopia.