OCT technique for evaluating diurnal variation in corneal thickness

• Autores: Antonio J. del Águila Carrasco, Alberto Domínguez Vicent, Daniel Monsálvez Romín, Vicent Sanchis, Lurdes Belda Salmerón
• Localización: Journal of Emmetropia: Journal of Cataract, Refractive and Corneal Surgery, ISSN-e 2171-4703, Vol. 4, Nº. 4, 2013, págs. 197-201
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • PURPOSE: To assess the possible changes that may occur in corneal thickness during the course of the day, over a total period of twelve hours, using an optical coherence tomography (OCT) device.

    SETTING: Department of Optics, University of Valencia, Spain.

    METHODS: Fifty left eyes from fifty young, healthy subjects were examined for this study using a non-invasive OCT technique. Corneal thickness was measured in five different positions (centre and 3 mm towards the nasal, temporal, inferior and superior direction) every 4 hours over a total period of 12 hours each day during a period of 3 days, using the Topcon SL SCAN-1 OCT device.

    RESULTS: A slight but significant decrease in corneal thickness was observed during the day. The thinning on corneal thickness was not uniform and depends on the corneal region under consideration. The superior region presented the greatest thinning, whereas inferior corneal region underwent the least thinning.

    CONCLUSION: OCT allows for the quick and easy analysis and assessment over time of variations in corneal thickness in different corneal regions or positions. Significant changes occur in corneal thickness during the day. These changes, even if they do not modify visual performance, should be taken into consideration for several clinical and research applications.