Validation of the Reichert® Tono-Vera® Vet rebound tonometer in normal ex vivo canine eyes

Abstract

Objective: To determine the accuracy of the Reichert® Tono-Vera® Vet rebound tonometer for canine intraocular pressure (IOP) measurement.

Animals studied: Five normal canine ex vivo globes.

Procedures: The anterior chambers of five freshly enucleated normal canine eyes were cannulated and connected to a reservoir of Plasma-Lyte A and a manometer. Starting at a manometric IOP of 5 mmHg, the pressure was progressively increased to 80 mmHg by raising the reservoir. Triplicate IOP measurements were taken with the Tono-Vera® Vet from the central cornea using the dog setting and compared to the manometric pressure by linear regression analysis and Bland-Altman plots.

Results: There was a strong positive linear regression trend when comparing central corneal Tono-Vera® Vet IOPs to manometric pressures (r² = .99) with solid agreement between the two methods. Compared to manometric IOPs, the Tono-Vera® Vet underestimated IOPs at higher pressures ≥70 mmHg.

Conclusions: Measurement of IOPs from the central cornea with the Tono-Vera® Vet provided accurate results over a large range in normal canine globes compared to direct manometry. The mild to moderate underestimation of IOPs at high pressures was not considered clinically relevant.

Keywords: central cornea; corneal surface alignment; dog; intraocular pressure; manometry; tonometry accuracy.