Patent ID: 8137271

Claim:
A method for determining an onset of glaucoma in an eye which comprises the steps of: providing a programmable Finite Element Model (FEM) of an Optical Nerve Head (ONH) of a patient having elements with tensor parameters respectively representative of a Lamina Cribrosa (LC), Prelaminar Neural Tissue (PrNT), Postlaminar Neural Tissue (PoNT), and Sclera; measuring data of stress-strain characteristics for tissue at each of a plurality of locations in the ONH of the patient in response to a predetermined pressure differential, wherein each location corresponds to a respective element of the FEM; entering the data into the FEM; varying the tensor parameters of the FEM to obtain a patient-specific pressure response profile for the ONH of the patient; and using a computer to evaluate the profile in comparison with an empirical statistic to predict the onset of glaucoma.