European Journal of Anatomy

Official Journal of The Spanish Society of Anatomy
Cover Volume 6 - Number 3
Eur J Anat, 6 (3): 127-132 (2002)

Assessment of differences in ocular morphometric measurements by using optical and applanation ultrasound biometry in the same eye

Sanchis Gimeno J.A., Alonso L., Arribas I., Asensio I., Rahhal M.S., Martinez Soriano F.

Departament of Human Embryology, Faculty of Medicine, Valencia, Spain; Rahhal Ophthalmology Clinic, Valencia, Spain; Arnau Vilanova University Hospital, Valencia, Spain; Dpto. Anatomia y Embriologia Humana, Facultad de Medicina, Av/ Blasco Ibanez 17, E-46010 Valencia, Spain

ABSTRACT Purpose of this work was to determine the differences in ocular axial length measurements carried out by one investigator using optical and ultrasound biometry on the same eye. In a prospective study, we measured the ocular axial length in 30 eyes of 30 different patients with the non-contact optical IOLMasterā?¢ (Zeiss Humphrey System, CA, USA) and immediately afterwards with the ultrasonic Compuscan A-B (Storz, St. Louis, MO, USA). One investigator took three consecutive readings of the ocular axial length with both biometers; the means of these three consecutive readings were the ocular axial length values used in the study. The mean age of the sample was 33.55Ā±8.32 years (range, 21 to 54 years). 23.33% (7 eyes) of the biometric procedures were conducted in women and 76.66% (23 eyes) in men. A t-Test for paired data was used to confirm the differences between the two measurement tools. P<0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. All measurements made with the IOLMasterā?¢ unit were higher than those obtained with the Compuscan unit. The IOLMasterā?¢ unit measurements were on average 0.38Ā±0.20 mm higher than the Compuscan measurements (p<0.001). The mean ocular axial length was 23.82Ā±2.18 mm as measured with the IOLMasterā?¢ and 23.43Ā±2.14 mm with the Compuscan A-B. The minimum difference between optical and ultrasound biometry was 0.12 mm and maximum was 0.74 mm. Optical and ultrasound biometry are two efficient anatomical tools for study of ocular anatomy. However, all anatomists should take into account the differences between the optical and ultrasound results when carrying out anatomical ocular studies in vivo.

Keywords: adult, article, biometry, clinical article, clinical examination, eye, human, measurement, medical instrumentation, morphometrics, optics, ultrasound

European Journal of anatomy
ISSN 2340-311X (Online)