Assessing Errors Inherent in OCT-Derived Macular Thickness Maps

Overview

Journal J Ophthalmol

Publisher Wiley

Specialty Ophthalmology

Date 2011 Aug 27

PMID 21869920

Citations 33

Authors

Daniel Odell

Adam M Dubis

Jackson F Lever

Kimberly E Stepien

Joseph Carroll

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

SD-OCT has become an essential tool for evaluating macular pathology; however several aspects of data collection and analysis affect the accuracy of retinal thickness measurements. Here we evaluated sampling density, scan centering, and axial length compensation as factors affecting the accuracy of macular thickness maps. Forty-three patients with various retinal pathologies and 113 normal subjects were imaged using Cirrus HD-OCT. Reduced B-scan density was associated with increased interpolation error in ETDRS macular thickness plots. Correcting for individual differences in axial length revealed modest errors in retinal thickness maps, while more pronounced errors were observed when the ETDRS plot was not positioned at the center of the fovea (which can occur as a result of errant fixation). Cumulative error can exceed hundreds of microns, even under "ideal observer" conditions. This preventable error is particularly relevant when attempting to compare macular thickness maps to normative databases or measuring the area or volume of retinal features.

Citing Articles

A retrospective longitudinal study of 52 Finnish patients with X-linked retinoschisis.

Jarvinen M, Baraas R, Majander A, Backlund M, Krootila J, Paavo M Acta Ophthalmol. 2024; 103(2):196-204.

PMID: 39435478 PMC: 11810562. DOI: 10.1111/aos.16776.

Ocular Biometric Components in Hyperopic Children and a Machine Learning-Based Model to Predict Axial Length.

Wang J, Jost R, Birch E Transl Vis Sci Technol. 2024; 13(5):25.

PMID: 38809529 PMC: 11146039. DOI: 10.1167/tvst.13.5.25.

Retinal and Choroidal Thickness in an Indigenous Population from Ghana: Comparison with Individuals with European or African Ancestry.

Zouache M, Faust C, Silvestri V, Akafo S, Lartey S, Mehta R Ophthalmol Sci. 2023; 4(2):100386.

PMID: 37868802 PMC: 10585639. DOI: 10.1016/j.xops.2023.100386.

IMI-The Dynamic Choroid: New Insights, Challenges, and Potential Significance for Human Myopia.

Ostrin L, Harb E, Nickla D, Read S, Alonso-Caneiro D, Schroedl F Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2023; 64(6):4.

PMID: 37126359 PMC: 10153586. DOI: 10.1167/iovs.64.6.4.

Relationship Between Drusen Height and OCT Biomarkers of Atrophy in Non-Neovascular AMD.

Au A, Santina A, Abraham N, Fogel Levin M, Corradetti G, Sadda S Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2022; 63(11):24.

PMID: 36306145 PMC: 9624265. DOI: 10.1167/iovs.63.11.24.

References

Parravano M, Oddone F, Boccassini B, Menchini F, Chiaravalloti A, Schiavone M . Reproducibility of macular thickness measurements using Cirrus SD-OCT in neovascular age-related macular degeneration. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2010; 51(9):4788-91. DOI: 10.1167/iovs.09-4976. View

Legarreta J, Gregori G, Punjabi O, Knighton R, Lalwani G, Puliafito C . Macular thickness measurements in normal eyes using spectral domain optical coherence tomography. Ophthalmic Surg Lasers Imaging. 2008; 39(4 Suppl):S43-9. DOI: 10.3928/15428877-20080715-02. View

Wagner-Schuman M, Dubis A, Nordgren R, Lei Y, Odell D, Chiao H . Race- and sex-related differences in retinal thickness and foveal pit morphology. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2010; 52(1):625-34. PMC: 3053303. DOI: 10.1167/iovs.10-5886. View

Zeffren B, Applegate R, Bradley A, van Heuven W . Retinal fixation point location in the foveal avascular zone. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 1990; 31(10):2099-105. View

Keane P, Mand P, Liakopoulos S, Walsh A, Sadda S . Accuracy of retinal thickness measurements obtained with Cirrus optical coherence tomography. Br J Ophthalmol. 2009; 93(11):1461-7. DOI: 10.1136/bjo.2008.155846. View

Lalwani G, Rosenfeld P, Fung A, Dubovy S, Michels S, Feuer W . A variable-dosing regimen with intravitreal ranibizumab for neovascular age-related macular degeneration: year 2 of the PrONTO Study. Am J Ophthalmol. 2009; 148(1):43-58.e1. DOI: 10.1016/j.ajo.2009.01.024. View

Leung C, Mohamed S, Leung K, Yim-Lui Cheung C, Chan S, Cheng D . Retinal nerve fiber layer measurements in myopia: An optical coherence tomography study. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2006; 47(12):5171-6. DOI: 10.1167/iovs.06-0545. View

Baskin D . Optical coherence tomography in diabetic macular edema. Curr Opin Ophthalmol. 2010; 21(3):172-7. DOI: 10.1097/ICU.0b013e32833866ae. View

Campbell R, Coupland S, Buhrmann R, Kertes P . Effect of eccentric and inconsistent fixation on retinal optical coherence tomography measures. Arch Ophthalmol. 2007; 125(5):624-7. DOI: 10.1001/archopht.125.5.624. View

10.

Bennett A, Rudnicka A, Edgar D . Improvements on Littmann's method of determining the size of retinal features by fundus photography. Graefes Arch Clin Exp Ophthalmol. 1994; 232(6):361-7. DOI: 10.1007/BF00175988. View

11.

Kim B, Smith S, Kaiser P . Optical coherence tomographic patterns of diabetic macular edema. Am J Ophthalmol. 2006; 142(3):405-12. DOI: 10.1016/j.ajo.2006.04.023. View

12.

Dubis A, McAllister J, Carroll J . Reconstructing foveal pit morphology from optical coherence tomography imaging. Br J Ophthalmol. 2009; 93(9):1223-7. PMC: 3327485. DOI: 10.1136/bjo.2008.150110. View

13.

Li K, Tiruveedhula P, Roorda A . Intersubject variability of foveal cone photoreceptor density in relation to eye length. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2010; 51(12):6858-67. PMC: 3055782. DOI: 10.1167/iovs.10-5499. View

14.

Wolf-Schnurrbusch U, Ceklic L, Brinkmann C, Iliev M, Frey M, Rothenbuehler S . Macular thickness measurements in healthy eyes using six different optical coherence tomography instruments. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2009; 50(7):3432-7. DOI: 10.1167/iovs.08-2970. View

15.

Putnam N, Hofer H, Doble N, Chen L, Carroll J, Williams D . The locus of fixation and the foveal cone mosaic. J Vis. 2005; 5(7):632-9. DOI: 10.1167/5.7.3. View

16.

Menke M, Dabov S, Sturm V . Comparison of three different optical coherence tomography models for total macular thickness measurements in healthy controls. Ophthalmologica. 2009; 223(6):352-6. DOI: 10.1159/000226600. View

17.

Krebs I, Hagen S, Brannath W, Haas P, Womastek I, De Salvo G . Repeatability and reproducibility of retinal thickness measurements by optical coherence tomography in age-related macular degeneration. Ophthalmology. 2010; 117(8):1577-84. DOI: 10.1016/j.ophtha.2010.04.032. View

18.

Asrani S, Edghill B, Gupta Y, Meerhoff G . Optical coherence tomography errors in glaucoma. J Glaucoma. 2009; 19(4):237-42. DOI: 10.1097/IJG.0b013e3181b21f99. View

19.

Leung C, Yim-Lui Cheung C, Weinreb R, Lee G, Lin D, Pang C . Comparison of macular thickness measurements between time domain and spectral domain optical coherence tomography. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2008; 49(11):4893-7. DOI: 10.1167/iovs.07-1326. View

20.

Schmitz-Valckenberg S, Fleckenstein M, Gobel A, Hohman T, Holz F . Optical coherence tomography and autofluorescence findings in areas with geographic atrophy due to age-related macular degeneration. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2010; 52(1):1-6. DOI: 10.1167/iovs.10-5619. View