Figure 8.

A comparison of the experimental (a) [44], the FM predicted (b) and the CM predicted (c) circumferential and meridional strain patterns from the posterior view of the ONH at 30 mm Hg. Detailed direction conventions for the circumferential and meridional strains are described in Figure 6. The plots of model predictions (b and c) were adjusted to align with the experimental plots in terms of the positions of the four quadrants: nasal (N), temporal (T), superior (S), and inferior (I). The experimental patterns, derived from a human sclera specimen [44], interestingly show contrasting behaviors: the circumferential strain radiates from the sclera canal, forming a pattern with outward-extending bands, whereas the meridional strain appears as a series of open, ring-shaped bands with high values concentrated near the canal. These contrasting patterns and pronounced near-canal meridional strains were accurately captured by the fiber model but not by the continuum model.