ULTRASONIC WAVE LIQUEFACTION OF VITREOUS HUMOR IN LIVING RABBITS

Abstract

ONE APPROACH to the problem of the treatment of vitreous hemorrhage is based on the assumption that the breakdown products of blood will diffuse more readily, and thus be absorbed more quickly, in a fluid vitreous than in a gel-like vitreous, the viscosity of which hinders diffusion. Although such an assumption is reasonable, it has never been rigidly tested, partly because there is no technique at present for liquefying the vitreous without injecting into the eye injurious substances. The literature on ultrasonic radiation suggests a possible means of liquefying the vitreous without causing concomitant inflammation.* In addition, previous studies have shown that red blood cells suspended in saline are destroyed by ultrasound. Although this poorly understood energy form has as yet found no clear-cut ophthalmological uses, certain promising facts have emerged from the experimental work. It has been reported by several groups of investigators that ultrasound can liquefy the excised