Repeatability and reproducibility of corneal thickness using SOCT Copernicus HR

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Biomedical Engineering
• Medical Imaging

Background:

• Accurate corneal thickness measurement is crucial for diagnosing and managing various ocular conditions.
• Fourier domain Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) offers advanced imaging capabilities for anterior segment analysis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the reliability of corneal thickness measurements obtained with the SOCT Copernicus HR device.
• To assess the intra-observer repeatability and inter-observer reproducibility of the SOCT Copernicus HR for pachymetry.

Main Methods:

• Corneal thickness (central and paracentral) and epithelial thickness were measured in 30 healthy eyes using SOCT Copernicus HR.
• Intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) and Bland-Altman analysis were employed to assess repeatability, reproducibility, and agreement between manual and automatic measurements.

Main Results:

• High intra-observer agreement (ICC up to 0.99) and inter-observer reproducibility (ICC up to 0.99) were observed for central corneal thickness.
• Agreement between manual and automatic measurement methods was also high (ICC > 0.91).
• Repeatability and reproducibility for epithelial thickness measurements were found to be poor.

Conclusions:

• SOCT Copernicus HR demonstrates high repeatability and reproducibility for corneal pachymetric mapping.
• The device's ergonomic design may require adjustments for optimal anterior segment scanning.
• Epithelial thickness measurements using this device require further investigation due to poor reliability.