Reproducibility of Retinal Nerve Fiber Layer Measurements with Manual and Automated Centration in Healthy Subjects Using Spectralis Spectral-Domain Optical Coherence Tomography

Abstract EN

Objective.

The aim of this study was to test the reproducibility of the Heidelberg Spectralis SD-OCT and to determine if provided software retest function for follow-up exam is superior to manual centration.

Design.

Prospective, cross-sectional study.

Participants.

20 healthy subjects.

Methods.

All subjects underwent SD-OCT testing to determine retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) measurements sequentially on two different days and with two different centration techniques.

Within-subject standard deviation, coefficient of variation, and intraclass correlation coefficient were used to assess reproducibility.

Results.

RNFL measurements showed high reproducibility, low within-subject standard deviation (1.3), low coefficient of variation (0.63%), and low intra-class correlation coefficient (0.98 (95% CI 0.97–0.99)) in the automated centration and manual centration groups for average RNFL Thickness.

Quadrants showed slightly higher variability in the manual group compared to the automated group (within-subject standard deviation 2.5–5.3 versus 1.1–2.4, resp.).

Conclusions.

SD-OCT provides high-resolution RNFL measurements with high reproducibility and low variability.

The re-test function allows for easier recentration for longitudinal examinations with similar results in average RNFL, but less variability in quadrant RNFL.

SD-OCT high reproducibility and low variability is a promising fact and should be further evaluated in longitudinal studies of RNFL.