Repeatability, reproducibility, and agreement for three optical coherence tomography instruments.

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Biomedical Engineering
• Medical Imaging

Background:

• Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is crucial for assessing retinal and choroidal thickness (RT and ChT).
• Evaluating the consistency of different OCT devices is essential for reliable clinical data and research.
• Variability between OCT devices can affect diagnostic accuracy and treatment monitoring.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the repeatability, reproducibility, and agreement of three OCT devices (VG200I, Triton, RTVue) for measuring RT and ChT.
• To compare measurements obtained using built-in software versus custom algorithms for choroidal thickness (ChT).
• To identify potential discrepancies in thickness measurements across different OCT platforms.

Main Methods:

• Sixty-eight eyes were analyzed using VG200I, Triton, and RTVue OCT devices.
• Repeatability was assessed by one operator performing two examinations; reproducibility by a second operator.
• Measurements included average RT/ChT (VG200I, Triton) and subfoveal RT/ChT (SFRT, SFChT) (RTVue), with comparisons of automated and custom algorithms for ChT.

Main Results:

• All three OCT devices exhibited high repeatability and reproducibility, with intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) generally above 0.760.
• Significant inter-device differences were observed for SFRT, SFChT, and overall RT/ChT measurements.
• While intermachine correlations were high (ρ > 0.655), mean differences indicated poor agreement between devices.

Conclusions:

• The evaluated OCT devices demonstrate robust repeatability and reproducibility for RT and ChT measurements.
• Despite high individual device consistency, poor agreement between the three OCT devices was found.
• Clinical use requires careful consideration of device-specific measurements and potential inter-device variability.