Reproducibility of manual choroidal thickness measurements using optical coherence tomography

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Medical Imaging

Background:

• Spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) is crucial for measuring choroidal thickness (CT).
• Elevated CT is associated with various ocular and systemic diseases.
• Concerns exist regarding the reproducibility and external validity of OCT measurements.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the inter-observer and intra-observer variability of manual choroidal thickness (CT) measurements using spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT).
• To assess the reliability of manual OCT for multicenter studies.

Main Methods:

• Manual CT measurements were performed on 40 eyes from 21 subjects (11 healthy, 10 with ankylosing spondylitis) using RTVue-100 OCT.
• Nine independent ophthalmologists from six centers conducted the measurements.
• Inter-observer variability was assessed using the intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC); intra-observer variability was assessed in two ophthalmologists.

Main Results:

• The mean subfoveal choroidal thickness (CT) was 364.9±85.1μm.
• The inter-observer ICC was 0.823, indicating good agreement among observers.
• Intra-observer ICCs were high, at 0.885 and 0.925, demonstrating excellent consistency for individual observers.

Conclusions:

• Manual choroidal thickness (CT) measurements using spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) exhibit good concordance.
• The results suggest that manual OCT measurements are a valid and reliable tool for multicenter research.
• This supports the use of manual OCT in clinical trials and large-scale studies investigating choroidal thickness.