3D iOCT feasible for improving macular surgery experience
Intraoperative OCT integration with 3D digital surgical visualization is feasible, with potential to minimize the need for accessory screens in the operating room while providing superior ergonomics, according to a presenter.
“Our project is a subanalysis of the DISCOVER study, in which we compared surgeon experience between conventional microscope-integrated intraoperative OCT and digitally enabled OCT with a 3D visualization system,” Katherine E. Talcott, MD, said at the virtual American Society of Retina Specialists meeting.
Overall, 187 eyes were included: 91 in the conventional iOCT group and 96 in the digitally enabled iOCT group. Following surgery, attending surgeons filled out standardized questionnaires.
Baseline characteristics were similar between the two groups in terms of the indications, with epiretinal membranes being the most common, followed by macular holes.
There was no significant difference in surgeon-perceived intraoperative OCT (iOCT) utility or direct impact on surgical decision-making; however, there was a large disparity between favoring surgical field-based visualization of the iOCT datastream in the digitally enabled iOCT group, 67.7%, compared with 3.3% in the conventional group (P < .0001).
“If you are in the conventional group, then you are looking at the OCT in the surgical field. Those images tend to be pretty small and they are transparent. So sometimes it can be hard to see details of the individual intraoperative OCT images,” Talcott said in discussion. “That’s different than in the digitally enabled group where those intraoperative OCT images are projected onto a larger screen. You can make out much better detail.”
Surgeons reported significantly less back discomfort (P < .0001) and fewer headaches (P < .002) in the digitally enabled iOCT group.
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Comparative assessment of conventional microscope-integrated to digitally enabled intraoperative OCT in vitreoretinal surgery in the DISCOVER study. Presented at: American Society of Retina Specialists annual meeting; July 24-26, 2020 (virtual meeting).
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