Use of Optical Coherence Tomography by Nonexpert Personnel as a Screening Approach for Glaucoma.

purposeThis pilot study was conducted to assess optical coherence tomography (OCT) as a screening tool for glaucoma when used by nonexpert personnel.

methodsThis prospective case-control study included 54 patients with open-angle glaucoma and 54 age-matched comparison individuals. Optovue iVue SD-OCT imaging was performed by nonprofessional photographers on undilated patients. The sensitivity, specificity, negative predictive value, and positive predictive value of iVue scan parameters for detecting open-angle glaucoma were evaluated.

resultsThe iVue cup to disc vertical ratio had a sensitivity of 0.96 [95% confidence interval (CI), 0.90-1.00] at 90% specificity and was strongly correlated with both the Cirrus HD-OCT cup to disc vertical ratio (Pearson coefficient=0.84) and the cup to disc ratio observed on dilated clinical examination by faculty ophthalmologists (Pearson coefficient=0.80). The retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) parameters performed robustly, but the ganglion cell complex parameters showed limited diagnostic value. The inferior quadrant thickness was among the best performing RNFL parameters, with a sensitivity of 0.87 (95% CI, 0.78-0.96) and a specificity of 0.88 (95% CI, 0.80-0.97) using the iVue normative database thresholds for abnormality.

conclusionsOCT imaging may be performed by nonprofessional photographers on undilated patients, and quantitative parameters derived from the resultant images, particularly the vertical cup to disc ratio and the RNFL inferior quadrant thickness, demonstrate sensitivities and specificities that may be adequately robust for glaucoma screening in the community setting.