Lateral and axial measurement differences between spectral-domain optical coherence tomography systems

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Medical Imaging
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SDOCT) is crucial for retinal imaging.
• Reproducibility of SDOCT measurements across different platforms is essential for clinical applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the reproducibility of lateral and axial measurements using SDOCT instruments.
• To compare measurement consistency within and between different SDOCT manufacturers.

Main Methods:

• Human retina phantom imaged on four SDOCT platforms (Zeiss Cirrus, Heidelberg Spectralis, Bioptigen SDOIS, Bioptigen Envisu).
• Manual measurements of lateral width (LW), central foveal thickness (CFT), and parafoveal thickness (PFT) using built-in calipers.
• Inter- and intraplatform reproducibility assessed using ANOVA and Tukey-Kramer tests.

Main Results:

• Significant differences in LW, CFT, and PFT measurements were found across SDOCT platforms (p<0.001).
• Intraplatform measurement differences were smaller than interplatform differences for all metrics.
• Conversion factors were generated to normalize measurements between platforms.

Conclusions:

• Lateral and axial manual SDOCT measurements exhibit greater variance across different platforms than within the same platform.
• Conversion factors can standardize SDOCT measurements, benefiting patient care and clinical research.