A new method for the determination of the mechanical properties of the vitreous.

In order to determine the mechanical properties of the vitreous which are characteristic for the extraction of foreign bodies, an oscillatory method was devised. The mechanical properties are described by a spring constant--relevant for the rubber elastic behaviour--and a friction constant characterizing the dissipative interaction inside the vitreous. The appropriateness of the data is demonstrated by the capability to predict the distance-time behaviour in strong, pulsed magnetic fields of ferromagnetic foreign bodies implanted into the vitreous of pig eyes.