Evidence map›Paper›PMID 30382929›Full record

ArticleBiomedical engineering online2018

An imaging system integrating optical coherence tomography and interferometry for in vivo measurement of the thickness and dynamics of the tear film.

Yuqiang Bai, William Ngo, Boyu Gu, Yuhua Zhang, Jason J Nichols

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Biomedical engineering online, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
14citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

14 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Imaging Approaches for the Diagnosis of Dry Eye: A Review.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026
    Review
  3. Article
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  6. Contact lens fitting and changes in the tear film dynamics: mathematical and computational models review.Graefe's archive for clinical and experimental ophthalmology = Albrecht von Graefes Archiv fur klinische und experimentelle Ophthalmologie · 2024
    Review
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  11. Review
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Yuqiang BaiSchool of Optometry, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, 35233, USA.
William NgoSchool of Optometry, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, 35233, USA.
Boyu GuDepartment of Ophthalmology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, 35233, USA.
Yuhua ZhangDepartment of Ophthalmology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, 35233, USA.
Jason J NicholsSchool of Optometry, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, 35233, USA. jjn@uab.edu.

Funding

The role of (O-acyl)-omega-hydroxy fatty acids in human lipid layer structure and function in health and meibomian gland dysfunction.R01EY026947 · NEI · UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM · PI NICHOLS, JASON JAY · 2016 to 2020
$1.8M
NEI NIH HHS R01 EY026947
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe outermost layer of the tear film consists of a thin lipid layer (LL). The lipid layer serves as a barrier against evaporation of the aqueous component of the tear film. The ability to simultaneously image both the lipid layer thickness and overall tear film thickness is novel, and will help further understandings of mechanisms of how the lipid layer assembles and interacts with the full tear film thickness.

methodsWe developed a system that combines simultaneous optical coherence tomography (OCT) and thickness dependent fringes (TDF) interferometry for in vivo imaging of the tear film. The OCT possesses an axial resolution of 1.38 µm in tear film, providing an accurate measurement of the thickness of the overall tear film. The TDF can detect a minimal change of approximately 15 nm in LL thickness. In addition, the spatial resolution of TDF images in x-y plane is 5 µm.

resultsThe effect of instilling artificial tears on the PCTF and PLTF was examined. In both contact lens and non-contact lens wear, it could be observed from the OCT results that instillation of artificial tears increased the thickness of the overall tear film immediately, followed by a gradual reduction thereafter. These findings were consistent with other studies. However, unlike those previous reports, the thickness of the LL in this study was quantified simultaneously with the TDF subsystem. The results showed that bulking agents such as these artificial tears were not necessarily intended to increase the LL thickness. Immediately after instillation of artificial tears, the PCTF increased from 4.4 ± 0.97 to 20.3 ± 3.6 µm. The PCTF then decreased to 8.8 ± 2.1 µm at 4 min post-instillation. The thicknesses of the LL were 62.4 ± 14.5 nm, 48.7 ± 5.3 nm, and 55.2 ± 9.8 nm at pre-drop instillation, post-drop instillation, and 4-min post-drop instillation, respectively.

conclusionsIn this work, we have described a novel imaging system that integrated OCT and TDF imaging techniques, which may facilitate the study of many physiological and clinical aspects of the tear film.

Indexed as

BlinkingCalibrationCorneaEquipment DesignHumansInterferometryLipidsLubricant Eye DropsNormal DistributionReproducibility of ResultsTearsTomography, Optical CoherenceLipidsLubricant Eye DropsInterferometryLipid layerOptical coherence tomographyTear film

Identifiers

PMID30382929
PMCPMC6211479

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.