U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

PUBLICATIONS

The contribution of lipid layer movement to tear film thinning and breakup

Published

Author(s)

Geoffrey B. McFadden, Christopher Smith, Barbara A. Fink, Jason J. Nichols, Richard J. Braun

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate the origin of the tear film thinning between blinks, which can lead to tear film breakup and ocular surface damage. Two mechanisms of thinning are considered: "tangential flow" of the tear film along the surface of the cornea, and evaporation. Tangential flow was studied by measuring the movement of the lipid layer which causes a corresponding motion of the aqueous tears.
Citation
Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science
Volume
50
Pub Type
Journals

Keywords

tear films, imaging interferometer, lipid layer, dry eye, tear evaporation, tangential flow
Mathematics and statistics

Citation

McFadden, G. , Smith, C. , Fink, B. , Nichols, J. and Braun, R. (2009), The contribution of lipid layer movement to tear film thinning and breakup, Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science (Accessed March 15, 2025)

Issues

If you have any questions about this publication or are having problems accessing it, please contact reflib@nist.gov.

Created June 15, 2009, Updated February 19, 2017