A Study to Assess Brillouin Hydration Mapping for the Evaluation of Ocular Tissues and Diseases

August 21, 2026 updated by: Seok Hyun Yun, Massachusetts General Hospital
The overall goal of this study is to develop Brillouin microscope as a novel tool for measuring biomechanical and hydration properties of human tissues in vivo.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Detailed Description

Our long-term goal is to establish a direct, accurate, and clinically viable method for measuring corneal hydration, enabling earlier detection, more precise diagnosis, and improved management of corneal diseases and postoperative complications. The objective of this study is to develop and validate Brillouin based hydration mapping as a diagnostic tool to quantify water content in the cornea across healthy individuals and patients with diverse ocular conditions. Our central hypothesis is that spatially resolved Brillouin frequency shifts can reveal disease-specific hydration profiles that are not detectable through conventional thickness-based methods. This hypothesis is based on recent evidence from our group demonstrating that Brillouin microscopy is sensitive to hydration. The rationale for this research is that Brillouin-based hydration maps will offer an unprecedented, morphology-independent metric of corneal fluid balance, which could improve clinical decision-making in a range of pathologies.

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Estimated)

90

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Massachusetts
      • Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 02114
        • Recruiting
        • Massachusetts General Brigham
        • Sub-Investigator:
          • Seok-Hyun Yun, PhD
        • Contact:
        • Contact:

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Aim 1 - Control Group (Healthy Subjects) : 10 subjects per 6 age ranges (20-29yr, 30-39yr, 40-49yr, 50-59yr, 60-69yr, 70-79yr), total 60 subjects

Aim 2 - Patient Groups : 20 patients per 6 diseases (Moderate Fuchs' endothelial dystrophy, Early-stage isolated corneal guttae, Primary open-angle glaucoma, Dry eye disease, Keratoconus, post-LASIK), total 120 patients.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Healthy volunteers with normal eyes
  • Visual acuity between +2 to -6 diopters

Exclusion Criteria:

  • History of refractive or cataract surgery
  • History of ocular disease
  • Active non-ophthalmic systemic disease

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort
Control Group
Healthy Subjects
Patient Group
Patient Subjects (Fuch's endothelial dystrophy, Corneal guttae, Open-angle glaucoma, Dry eye disease, Keratoconus, post-LASIK)

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Number of subjects to successfully complete Brillouin measurement without serious unanticipated adverse events related to application of the device.
Time Frame: Through completion of the single study visit, approximately 1-2 hours
Number and percentage of enrolled subjects who complete the single Brillouin imaging session without experiencing a serious unanticipated adverse event related to the investigational Brillouin Ocular Scanner, as determined by study staff monitoring during and immediately following the imaging procedure.
Through completion of the single study visit, approximately 1-2 hours

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Massachusetts General Hospital

Collaborators

National Eye Institute (NEI)
Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Seok-Hyun Yun, PhD, Massachusetts General Brigham

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

August 18, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

September 1, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

September 1, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

August 18, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 18, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

August 24, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

August 25, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 21, 2026

Last Verified

August 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 2025P002530
  • R01EY038655-01 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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