Neophyte Skill Judging Corneoscleral Lens Clearance

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Optometry
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Accurate assessment of central corneal clearance (CCC) is crucial for successful corneoscleral lens fitting.
• Neophyte clinicians may face challenges in precisely evaluating CCC, potentially leading to suboptimal lens selection and patient outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the accuracy of neophyte clinicians' estimations of central corneal clearance (CCC) for corneoscleral lenses.
• To determine if lens center thickness (CT) can serve as a reliable biometric scale for assessing CCC.

Main Methods:

• 34 optometry students estimated CCC on a normal participant fitted with corneoscleral lenses.
• Estimates were compared to objective measurements obtained via anterior segment-Optical Coherence Tomography (AS-OCT).

Main Results:

• Clinicians significantly overestimated CCC in both eyes (OD: 220.5 ± 121.1 microns vs. 105.5 ± 11.0 microns; OS: 398.0 ± 159.1 microns vs. 340.8 ± 15.2 microns).
• Statistical analysis revealed significant differences between estimated and measured CCC values (p=0.001 OD, p=0.012 OS).

Conclusions:

• Neophyte clinicians tend to overestimate CCC when assessing corneoscleral lenses.
• Estimation accuracy diminishes as the actual central corneal clearance decreases, highlighting a need for improved training and objective measurement tools.