Evaluation of electrical impedance spectroscopy of bovine eyes for early detection of uveal melanoma

Abstract

Uveal melanoma is the most common primary intraocular cancer in adults and is an aggressive malignancy with risk to vision and survival. Early detection and timely management of tumors may help preserve vision and reduce mortality rate but is challenging as many tumors are asymptomatic until they become large. Here, we studied the electrical properties of eyes to investigate a novel method for potentially detecting small intraocular tumors. We used finite element analysis to simulate the impact of uveal melanoma tumors on electrical impedance and current density in eye models. We also measured the impedance and current flow in the presence of inserted tissue simulating an intraocular tumor in enucleated bovine eyes and eyes in bovine head ex vivo. Our results showed that a 5 mm-diameter mass was detected inside a 32-mm diameter bovine eye by the impedance analyzer.