Reproducibility of macular thickness measurement among five OCT instruments: effects of image resolution, image registration, and eye tracking

Ophthalmic Surg Lasers Imaging. 2012 Mar-Apr;43(2):97-108. doi: 10.3928/15428877-20111222-02. Epub 2012 Jan 3.

Abstract

Background and objective: To study the effect of image resolution, eye tracking, and image registration on central macular thickness reproducibility (rCMT) among spectral-domain and time-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT and TD-OCT) instruments.

Patients and methods: Seventy-six eyes were imaged (44 normal, 32 maculopathy) either twice using four SD-OCT and one TD-OCT devices or three times using Spectralis SD-OCT (with and without eye tracking) (Heidelberg Engineering, Inc., Heidelberg, Germany). Cirrus images (Carl Zeiss Meditec, Dublin, CA) were further analyzed with three-point image registration.

Results: All instruments had superior rCMT in normal versus pathologic eyes (P < .001). No difference in rCMT was noted among instruments in normal eyes (P = .92), but TD-OCT was superior to SD-OCT (P = .017) in pathologic eyes. Cirrus image registration improved rCMT for normal eyes (P = .04), with borderline improvement in pathologic eyes (P = .06). Spectralis eye tracking improved rCMT in normal (P = .01) and pathologic (P = .004) eyes.

Conclusion: Higher image resolution with SD-OCT may not improve rCMT, but image registration and eye tracking options may improve rCMT.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Diagnostic Techniques, Ophthalmological*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Macula Lutea / anatomy & histology*
  • Macula Lutea / pathology
  • Macular Degeneration / pathology*
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Prospective Studies
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Tomography, Optical Coherence / instrumentation*
  • Tomography, Optical Coherence / standards
  • Young Adult