Study finds OCT methods effective for central corneal thickness measurements in patients with glaucoma

Spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) and swept-source (SS-OCT) are both a reliable and effective method for measuring central corneal thickness (CCT), showing strong agreement with the gold standard ultrasonic corneal pachymetry (US CP), according to a study.

The study included 26 eyes from 16 adults with glaucoma or glaucoma suspects.

Each participant underwent CCT measurement using anterior segment SD-OCT (Spectralis, Heidelberg Engineering), SS-OCT (DRI-Triton, Topcon), and US CP. Results showed that SD-OCT measured an average CCT of 548.04 µm, SS-OCT measured 538.88 µm, and US CP measured 537.12 µm. Statistical analysis revealed strong agreement between SD-OCT and US CP (intraclass correlation coefficient [ICC] of 0.915) and the best agreement between SS-OCT and US CP (ICC of 0.929). The researchers noted that 53.8% of SS-OCT measurements and 50% of SD-OCT measurements differed from US CP by less than 10 µm.

Reference
Machado Luz P, Lubisco VM, Leivas Lindenmeyer R, et al. Central Corneal Thickness Measurement in Patients with Glaucoma and Glaucoma Suspects by Spectral-Domain and Swept-Source Optical Coherence Tomography Compared with the Standard Ultrasonic Method. Clin Ophthalmol. 2025;19:819-825. doi: 10.2147/OPTH.S512052. PMID: 40092743; PMCID: PMC11908400.