Retinal thickness measurement obtained with spectral domain optical coherence tomography assisted optical biopsy accurately correlates with ex vivo histology

Lee R Ferguson; Sandeep Grover; James M Dominguez 2nd; Sankarathi Balaiya; Kakarla V Chalam

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0111203

Retinal thickness measurement obtained with spectral domain optical coherence tomography assisted optical biopsy accurately correlates with ex vivo histology

PLoS One. 2014 Oct 31;9(10):e111203. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0111203. eCollection 2014.

Authors

Lee R Ferguson¹, Sandeep Grover¹, James M Dominguez 2nd², Sankarathi Balaiya¹, Kakarla V Chalam¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Ophthalmology, University of Florida College of Medicine, Jacksonville, Florida, United States of America.
² Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, University of Florida College of Medicine, Gainesville, Florida, United States of America.

Abstract

Background: This study determines 'correlation constants' between the gold standard histological measurement of retinal thickness and the newer spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) technology in adult C57BL/6 mice.

Methods: Forty-eight eyes from adult mice underwent SD-OCT imaging and then were histologically prepared for frozen sectioning with H&E staining. Retinal thickness was measured via 10x light microscopy. SD-OCT images and histological sections were standardized to three anatomical sites relative to the optic nerve head (ONH) location. The ratios between SD-OCT to histological thickness for total retinal thickness (TRT) and six sublayers were defined as 'correlation constants'.

Results: Mean (± SE) TRT for SD-OCT and histological sections was 210.95 µm (± 1.09) and 219.58 µm (± 2.67), respectively. The mean 'correlation constant' for TRT between the SD-OCT and histological sections was 0.96. The retinal thickness for all sublayers measured by SD-OCT vs. histology were also similar, the 'correlation constant' values ranged from 0.70 to 1.17. All SD-OCT and histological measurements demonstrated highly significant (p<0.01) strong positive correlations.

Conclusion: This study establishes conversion factors for the translation of ex vivo data into in vivo information; thus enhancing the applicability of SD-OCT in translational research.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Animals
Biopsy / methods*
Biopsy / standards
Histological Techniques*
Mice
Mice, Inbred C57BL
Reference Standards
Reproducibility of Results
Retina / pathology*
Tomography, Optical Coherence*
Tumor Protein, Translationally-Controlled 1

Grants and funding

The Department of Ophthalmology Jacksonville, Jacksonville, Florida provided all financial support for this study. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.