An observational study in Keratoconus, Keratoconus, Unstable and Keratoconus, Stable, sponsored by The Cleveland Clinic. Enrolling by invitation at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 60 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-10-01.
Sponsored by The Cleveland Clinic · Observational
The objective of this study is to measure the Brillouin biomechanical properties in keratoconic corneas and characterize biomechanical alterations that occur after corneal procedures that inherently strengthen or weaken the cornea by evaluating the change in Brillouin metrics before and after treatments.
Surgical correction of myopia and keratoconus identification/management are separate but tightly intertwined issues of major significance. For both, there is an unmet need for direct measurements to evaluate corneal stiffness (i.e. its resistance to deformation). The prevalence of myopia is expected to double, affecting more than 50% of the US population, by 2050. Laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) is one of the most popular and successful surgeries in the world and compares favorably to long-term contact lens wear use for myopia correction. However, only \~10% of eligible patients undergo LASIK currently; the others cite safety concerns as a major factor in their decision. The primary risk for poor refractive surgery outcomes is biomechanical failure due to unidentified (subclinical) ectasia (i.e. keratoconus). Patients presenting for LASIK evaluation with atypical, suspicious corneal curvature but with undetermined true risk represent the leading reason for surgery screening failures. This results in good candidates being denied surgery, while up to 10% of truly poor candidates are still missed using current screening algorithms.
Keratoconus is up to 10 times more prevalent than the previously reported 1/2000 figure. Corneal cross-linking (CXL) is now FDA approved in the US for keratoconus treatment and is effective at stiffening the cornea and halting ectasia progression. Early identification of keratoconus is critical, but current tests in the clinic are morphological, not biomechanical, and therefore do not allow a definitive diagnosis at the earliest stages resulting in vision loss before CXL treatment is initiated. Thus, the need for accurate identification of subclinical ectasia has never been greater.
In the past years, newly developed technology, Brillouin microscopy, has emerged as the most promising tool to address this clinical need. This study will systemically address the critical gap in current knowledge by linking Brillouin mapping of corneal biomechanical alterations to abnormal morphological behavior and testing the findings in conditions where corneal biomechanics are abruptly altered, by: 1) weakening with refractive surgery procedures, and 2) strengthening through corneal cross-linking.
It is anticipated that a clinical tool assessing the mechanical state of the cornea will improve early diagnosis and management of keratoconus as well as refractive surgery planning. Ultimately, this will lead to predictive models where Brillouin measurements could be an accurate predictor of postoperative outcomes and thus aid in developing individualized surgical parameters.
313 studies on the registry are indexed under Keratoconus; 56 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 220 is above the median of 130 across 97 observational studies indexed under Keratoconus.
Browse Keratoconus studies →The Cleveland Clinic is the lead sponsor of 831 studies on the registry; 119 are open to participants now.
Of its 90 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 73 (81%) have results posted.
Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.
Group 1: Patients with normal corneas Group 2: Patients with keratoconus Group 3: Patients with normal corneas undergoing LASIK Group 4: Patients with normal corneas undergoing PRK Group 5: Patients with normal corneas undergoing SMILE Group 6: Patients with keratoconus undergoing CXL
Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.
Exclusion Criteria:
Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Informed consent
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Patients with normal corneas without any prior surgery to serve as the control group
Device: Brillouin microscopy
Patients with various stages of keratoconus
Device: Brillouin microscopy
Patients with normal corneas who are undergoing laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK)
Device: Brillouin microscopy
Patients with normal corneas who are undergoing photorefractive keratectomy (PRK)
Device: Brillouin microscopy
Patients with normal corneas who are undergoing small incision lenticular extraction (SMILE)
Device: Brillouin microscopy
Patients with keratoconus who are undergoing corneal cross-linking (CXL)
Device: Brillouin microscopy
The Brillouin clinical instrument is comprised of three parts: a human interface, a laser-scanning confocal microscope, and an etalon-based spectrometer. The human interface is a modified ophthalmic slit-lamp instrument with chin support and headrest. The light source is a single longitudinal mode CW laser at 780 nm. A polarizing beam splitter and quarter-wave plate assembly sends the laser beam to the human interface. To focus light into the eye, a long-working distance microscope objective is used. Brillouin scattered light from the eye is collected with a single-mode optical fiber. For spectral analysis, a two-stage VIPA-etalon spectrometer configured with the cross-axis cascade principle and the spectrum is measured on a EM-CCD camera.
Change in Brillouin Metrics
Brillouin metrics to be evaluated include localized Mean Brillouin modulus measure across the cornea and at each depth of the corneal stroma
Time frame: Difference between baseline and 3 months after intervention
Plan to share: No — there is no plan to share data
Started Jun 2021 (actual). Primary completion is estimated for Jul 2027, 73 months after the start.
Since we started tracking on Sep 25, 2026, the dates moved once, on Oct 1, 2026: primary completion Jul 2026 → Jul 2027 and completion Dec 2026 → Dec 2027.
Earlier changes are on the record history on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.
From the registry record's own update history. This site started tracking changes on Sep 25, 2026; for anything earlier, see the record history on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
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