Measurable Range of Subfoveal Choroidal Thickness With Conventional Spectral Domain Optical Coherence Tomography

We investigate the measurable range of subfoveal choroidal thickness (SFCT) with conventional spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) in normal healthy eyes.

All subjects underwent an SD-OCT horizontal line scan centered at the fovea with standard and enhanced depth imaging (EDI) techniques. Two independent observers manually measured SFCT on standard and EDI-OCT images, if two choroidal borders were identified. The rate of successful measurement with standard OCT was evaluated. Inter- and intraclass correlation coefficients and Bland-Altman plots were used for analysis.

OCT images of 724 normal healthy eyes from 374 subjects were evaluated. Although the inner choroidal border was identified on all OCT images, the outer choroidal border was identified on 378 of 724 (52.2%) conventional OCT images. Mean SFCT of all study eyes measured by EDI-OCT images was 292.6 ± 94.0. The number of successful measurements with conventional OCT was 100%, 87.5%, 48.1%, 33.0%, and 0%, in the SFCT ranges of <241, 241-280, 281-320, 321-360, and >360 μm, respectively. The accumulated rate of successful measurement with conventional OCT was 100%, 96.4%, and 82.2% in the SFCT ranges of ≤240, ≤280, and ≤320 μm, respectively. Two protocols showed good inter-correlation of SFCT, when SFCT were measurable in both scans.

SFCT can be measured by conventional OCT in eyes with thin choroid, and the measured value shows high agreement with those measured by EDI-OCT. In such eyes, conventional OCT can be used potentially to evaluate the retina and choroid.

In eyes with a thin choroid, conventional OCT can be used potentially to evaluate the retina and choroid with high agreement with EDI-OCT.