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Published on: July 24, 2020
Sensitivity and specificity of SS-OCT for detecting macular pathologies vs SD-OCT
Elizabeth Yeu1, John P Berdahl, Preeya K Gupta
1From the Virginia Eye Consultants, Norfolk, Virginia (Yeu); Vance Thompson Vision, Sioux Falls, South Dakota (Berdahl); Triangle Eye Consultants, Raleigh, North Carolina (Gupta); Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana (Gupta); Eye Centers of Tennessee, Crossville and Cookeville, Tennessee (Patterson).
Swept-source optical coherence tomography (SS-OCT) biometers show low sensitivity for detecting macular pathology, potentially missing nearly a fourth of cases. Spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) remains the gold standard for accurate macular health assessment.
Area of Science:
- Ophthalmology
- Medical Imaging
- Diagnostic Technology
Background:
- Cataract surgery requires accurate assessment of macular health.
- Spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) is the gold standard for macular imaging.
- Swept-source optical coherence tomography (SS-OCT) biometers offer integrated retinal imaging capabilities.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the sensitivity and specificity of SS-OCT biometer scans against SD-OCT for detecting macular pathology in patients undergoing cataract surgery evaluation.
- To determine if SS-OCT biometer can replace SD-OCT for macular screening.
Main Methods:
- Prospective, cross-sectional, observational study with 132 participants (≥50 years old).
- Participants underwent retinal scans with SS-OCT biometer and macular scans with Cirrus SD-OCT.
- Three independent, masked examiners evaluated scans for normal or suspected macular pathology.
Main Results:
- SS-OCT biometer sensitivity ranged from 71.1% to 79.2%, with false negative rates between 20.8% and 28.9%.
- Specificity ranged from 86.8% to 94.1%, with false positive rates between 5.9% and 13.2%.
- Fitted receiver operating characteristic (ROC) areas ranged from 0.83 to 0.95.
Conclusions:
- SS-OCT biometer is not a suitable replacement for SD-OCT in screening or diagnosing macular health due to insufficient sensitivity.
- SS-OCT biometer may miss a significant proportion of patients with macular disease.
- SD-OCT remains essential for definitive macular health assessment, though SS-OCT may offer supplementary insights.
