Combined Use of Parallel-Plate Compression and Finite Element Modeling to Analyze the Mechanical Properties of Intact Porcine Lens

This study evaluated the feasibility and analytical accuracy of using parallel-plate compression to measure the overall (intact) mechanical properties of porcine crystalline lenses. Intact lenses (capsule preserved) were compressed in a buffered fluid bath using a MicroSquisher setup, and the resulting force–displacement response was analyzed using both the classical Hertz contact model and a large-deformation–adjusted Hertz model. Finite element simulations showed the classical Hertz model systematically overestimates Young’s modulus (errors >10%), while the adjusted model produced values much closer to the known inputs (errors <~1.3%). Experimental lens testing yielded equivalent Young’s moduli in the ~3.2–4.3 kPa range using the adjusted model, and the lenses exhibited hysteresis and low-frequency viscoelastic damping under sinusoidal loading.