Repeatability and reproducibility of retinal nerve fibre layer thickness measurements with the iVue-100 optical coherence tomographer

Abstract

Background: Accurate and repeatable measurements of the retinal nerve fibre layer (RNFL) thickness are important in the diagnosis and management of glaucoma and other disorders. Objective: To assess the repeatability and reproducibility of the iVue-100 optical coherence tomographer (OCT). Methods: The thickness of the RNFL was measured for 50 healthy participants using the iVue-100 OCT. Although both eyes per participant were measured, only right eyes were analysed here. Repeatability and reproducibility of the iVue-100 OCT were assessed using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), coefficient of variation (CoV), paired t-tests and Bland-Altman analysis. Results: Good intra-observer repeatability was obtained as indicated by the ICC of observer 1 (range: 0.941-0.976) and observer 2 (range: 0.829 – 0.953) as well by the CoV of observer 1 (range: 0.098 – 0.137) and observer 2 (0.091 – 0.132). In terms of inter-observer reproducibility, significant differences (p< 0.05) in mean measurements between the observers were noted for the average RNFL readings and in the superior and inferior quadrants as assessed with paired t-tests. Even though significant inter-session differences were found for the average RNFL thickness and the superior quadrant (p = 0.003 and p = 0.013, respectively), excellent ICCs were obtained for inter-session reproducibility (range: 0.914 – 0.979). Conclusion: The iVue-100 OCT demonstrated good repeatability and reproducibility for RNFL thickness measurements.