title: Assessment of accuracy and repeatability of anterior segment optical coherence tomography and reproducibility of measurements using a customised software program.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim was to study the reliability of measurements of the RTVue (Optovue, Fremont, CA, USA) anterior segment optical coherence tomographer (AS-OCT) and assess how results can be improved by analysing raw optical coherence tomography data with customised image analysis software and applying correction factors.
  
  
  METHODS
  Five RTVue AS-OCT instruments (ver. 4.0) were assessed by imaging gauge blocks of three different lengths, single/stepped glass plate (microscope slides) and flat window glass to check for width, depth and linearity of the measurement scans. Five repeats per calibration tool were imaged and averaged. Raw data were exported and loaded into customised image analysis software written in LabWindows/CVI for further analysis. Using two calibration balls with different radii, measurement scans were validated. Repeatability of the optical coherence tomographs and the edge detection procedure were checked and statistical analyses performed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Variations ranging from 0.01 to 1.93 mm in scan width and 0.1 to 0.17 mm in scan depth were found between the five instruments. Slight curvature distortion of 0.06 ± 0.01 mm (mean and standard deviation) was found in the raw images. By isolating the three sources of image distortion and applying individual correction factors, accuracy for corneal curvature measurements could be improved to better than 0.1 mm. Manual edge detection limited the coefficient of repeatability value to 0.06 and 0.08 mm for anterior and posterior radii of curvature, respectively. The coefficient of repeatability of corneal thickness measurements was less than 8 µm.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Accuracy of the RTVue AS-OCT varied between instruments. By applying calibration scale factors calculated by customised software, accuracy of thickness and curvature values of the anterior eye was improved. The achievable precision is sufficient to detect clinically relevant corneal curvature variations.
authors.affiliation: Vision Cooperative Research Centre, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. e.kim@brienholdenvision.org
authors.forename: Eon
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Klaus
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ehrmann
mesh_terms: D019781:Corneal Topography; D006801:Humans; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012984:Software; D041623:Tomography, Optical Coherence / Q000379:methods*