This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Corneal epithelial mapping with OCT may help identify forme fruste keratoconus
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
CHICAGO — Use of optical coherence tomography to analyze corneal epithelial thickness maps may aid in the detection of forme fruste keratoconus, a speaker said here.
“Forme fruste keratoconus is the most important risk factor for post-LASIK keratectasia, and that’s why we are very interested in detecting it,” David Huang, MD, PhD, said during Refractive Subspecialty Day preceding the joint meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology and Asia Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology.
Huang discussed the results of a study that included 17 eyes of 17 patients with forme fruste keratoconus. A control group comprised 17 eyes of 17 normal subjects.
Investigators used the RTVue Fourier-domain OCT system (Optovue) to scan the corneas of patients with and without forme fruste keratoconus. Scans were taken in the central 6 mm of the cornea. A computer algorithm was developed to map corneal epithelial thickness and calculate various pattern deviation profiles.
Minimum epithelial thickness was 42.1 µm in eyes with keratoconus and 46 µm in healthy eyes; the difference was statistically significant (P < .01).
Root-mean-square pattern deviation was most accurate in detecting abnormal epithelial patterns in early keratoconus, Huang said.
“We are still working on topography measures, especially spherical topography, which is supposed to be very powerful in forme fruste keratoconus,” Huang said.
Disclosure: Huang has patents/royalties from Carl Zeiss Meditec. He is a consultant and equity owner, has patents/royalties and receives lecture fees and grant support from Optovue.