Overhead Mounted Optical Coherence Tomography in Childhood Glaucoma Evaluation.

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Medical Imaging

Background:

• Standard tabletop OCT presents challenges in pediatric glaucoma due to patient age and cooperation.
• Difficulties in obtaining quality images limit the management and study of childhood glaucoma.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the feasibility and image quality of overhead-mounted spectral-domain OCT in childhood glaucoma.
• To evaluate peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer (pRNFL), parafoveal total retinal thickness, and parafoveal ganglion cell complex (GCC) thickness in these patients.

Main Methods:

• A prospective cross-sectional study imaging children and adults with childhood glaucoma using overhead spectral-domain OCT.
• Inclusion criteria involved prior poor-quality or unobtainable tabletop OCT scans.

Main Results:

• Successful high-quality imaging was achieved in 92.3% of enrolled patients (60 of 65).
• Mean image quality was 22.9±6.0 dB.
• Calculated mean values for pRNFL, total retinal thickness, and GCC thickness were obtained.

Conclusions:

• Overhead OCT facilitates high-quality imaging in pediatric glaucoma patients, improving clinical management and research.
• Affected eyes in children under 6 showed reduced pRNFL, total retinal thickness, and GCC thickness compared to controls.