Millions of Americans experience dry eye syndrome, a condition that decreases quality of vision and causes ocular discomfort. A phenomenon associated with dry eye syndrome is tear film breakup (TBU), or the formation of dry spots on the eye. The dynamics of the tear film can be studied using fluorescence imaging. Many parameters affecting tear film thickness and fluorescent intensity distributions within TBU are difficult to measure directly in vivo. We estimate breakup parameters by fitting computed results from thin film fluid PDE models to experimental fluorescent intensity data gathered from normal subjects’ tear films in vivo. Both evaporation and the Marangoni effect can cause breakup. The PDE models include these mechanisms in combination and separately. The parameters are determined by a nonlinear least squares minimization between computed and experimental fluorescent intensity, and they indicate the relative importance of each mechanism. Optimal values for computed breakup variables that cannot be measured in vivo fall near or within accepted experimental ranges for the general corneal region. Our results are a step towards characterizing the mechanisms that cause a wide range of breakup instances and help medical professionals to better understand tear film function and dry eye syndrome.

The talk will be held virtually, with Zoom link: https://ncsu.zoom.us/j/99478618400?pwd=YmpUYkJyQVFIcWcvVXJxWjFjcHBQdz09