Effect of small head tilt on ocular fundus image: Consideration of proper head positioning for ocular fundus scanning

Head tilt and resultant ocular cyclotorsion can influence the results of ophthalmologic examinations. Thus, proper head positioning during fundus scanning has been emphasized. However, there is no perfect method to control the head tilt and little is known about the effect of small head tilts. In this study, we investigated the effect of minimal head tilt on the ocular cyclotorsion which we cannot easily detect.Forty-seven participants without ophthalmologic or vestibular abnormalities were recruited as normal subjects. Their faces were positioned at the desired head tilt using a customized adjustable head tilter and facial and fundus photographs of both the left and right eyes were taken in the upright neutral position; as well as at rightward and leftward head tilts of 2°, 4°, and 6°. The actual head tilt was determined using the facial photographs by measuring the slope of a line that intersected the corneal reflexes of both eyes. Rotational changes in the fundus images were recorded and the correlation of these changes with the degree of head tilt was determined.The degree of head tilt was significantly correlated with rotational changes in the fundus images from both the right and left eyes (P < 0.001; right eye: R = 0.897, left eye: R = 0.899). The mean relative compensations for head tilt, mediated by the ocular counterrolling reflex, were 0.376 ± 0.255 in the right eye (range: -0.02 to 1.0), and 0.350 ± 0.263 in the left eye (range: -0.03 to 1.0), and exhibited a significant negative correlation with head tilt (P < 0.05). The mean relative compensation of the right eye did not differ significantly from that of the left eye (P = 0.380), but the value did vary widely among individuals and within individuals.Even very small head tilt was partially and variably compensated for, and caused significant rotation in the fundus image. We concluded that proper head positioning does not guarantee the minimal ocular cyclotorsion change of the eyes and image-adjusting technique would be a better solution for minimizing errors from ocular cyclotorsion changes.