EXPERIMENTAL CATARACT PRODUCED BY THREE CENTIMETER PULSED MICROWAVE IRRADIATIONS

Abstract

THE DEVELOPMENT of cataract as a result of electromagnetic radiations is well established. Formerly it was supposed that this effect was unique to the action of infra-red, ultraviolet and roentgen radiations, although as early as 1926 in a survey of work in these fields Duke-Elder¹suggested that other portions of the spectrum, if of sufficient magnitude, might produce cataract. On the other hand, as late as 1944 it was the opinion of Bellows,²basing his views on the work of Legge³and of Hartridge and Hill,⁴that electromagnetic waves longer than 20,000 angstrom units would be absorbed completely by the cornea. In 1948 it was demonstrated by Richardson, Duane and Hines⁵that lenticular opacities could be produced by continuous microwave radiations of 12.25 cm. wavelength. These observations were confirmed by the contemporary work of Daily, Wakim, Herrick and Parkhill,⁶which was completed later in