title: Four methods of measuring human corneal endothelial cells from specular photomicrographs.
abstract: We measured central corneal endothelial cell density and area from contact specular photomicrographs of ten normal and ten abnormal corneas, comparing the precision, cost, and speed of four methods: a rectangle, planimeter, digitizer, and cell sizer. The rectangle, planimeter, and digitizer gave results that differed less than 10% from each other; therefore, the three methods can be used interchangeably for clinical purposes. There are statistically significant differences among the three techniques that may be important in basic research. The cell sizer gave a rapid, less precise estimate of mean cell area and cell density. The planimeter and digitizer measured individual endothelial cell size, and the latter entered data directly into a computer that printed both a copy of the endothelial mosaic and a histogram of cell size frequency, and computed cell density and mean cell area. We make the following recommendations: Count cells in a rectangle used for routine clinical measurement. use a cell sizer for rough estimation, as in an eyebank setting. Use a computerized digitizer to study individual endothelial cell size.
mesh_terms: D002452:Cell Count; D003201:Computers; D003315:Cornea / Q000166:cytology*; D003316:Corneal Diseases / Q000473:pathology; D003365:Costs and Cost Analysis; D004727:Endothelium / Q000166:cytology; D006652:Histological Techniques; D006801:Humans; D013677:Medical Laboratory Science / Q000191:economics / Q000295:instrumentation