Repeatability and reproducibility of corneal thickness measurements by optical coherence tomography

To assess the repeatability and interoperator and intersession reproducibility of central corneal thickness (CCT) measurements made by a commercially available optical coherence tomography (OCT) system.

Intersession and interoperator reproducibility and repeatability were defined according to the guidelines of the British Standards Institution and examined in a control group of 14 normal subjects. An in-house computer program was used to evaluate central corneal thickness from these scans.

The coefficient of interoperator reproducibility was 0.18%, whereas that for intersession reproducibility was 1.11%. Wilcoxon analysis (5% level of significance) showed that there was no statistically significant difference between scans acquired during different sessions or by different operators. Coefficients of repeatability were all less than 3%. The average CCT was 526 +/- 28 microm (SD) and the range of normal CCT between 5th and 95th percentiles was 498 to 576 microm.

Although the commercially available OCT scanner was designed for retinal imaging, with a few minor modifications, the system may be used to image the anterior segment. Previous studies have shown that OCT measurements correlate well with those from conventional techniques, and it has the added advantage of being a noncontact technique. This study further demonstrates that the OCT measurements show a high degree of repeatability and reproducibility. Thus, OCT is emerging as a promising tool for evaluation of CCT in the clinical setting.