Abstract
Purpose: :
This study uses hand-held spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SDOCT) to characterize optic nerve head (ONH) morphology and parameters including vertical disc diameter, vertical cup diameter and vertical cup/disc ratio in healthy, full-term newborns.
Methods: :
Fifty-eight healthy full-term newborns of white (22), black (15) and Hispanic (21) ethnicity were included in the study. On day 1 or 2 of life, each newborn had a dilated clinical examination as well as SDOCT imaging of the optic nerve in each eye. The eye that was most effectively imaged was chosen as the representative eye for analysis. For each group of newborns, average vertical disc diameter, vertical cup diameter and vertical cup/disc ratio were calculated and compared using a Wilcoxon Rank Test.
Results: :
Mean vertical disc diameter in white, black, and Hispanic newborns was 1.29 mm (S.D. 0.153 mm), 1.38 mm (S.D. 0.135 mm), and 1.38 mm (S.D. 0.142 mm), respectively, (p=0.02 for white vs. Hispanic; p=0.07 for white vs. black). Mean vertical cup diameter in white, black, and Hispanic newborns was 0.44 mm (S.D. 0.148 mm), 0.56 mm (S.D. 0.230 mm), and 0.46 mm (S.D. 0.304 mm), respectively, (p=0.03 for white vs. black). Vertical cup/disc ratio in white, black, and Hispanic newborns was 0.34 (S.D. 0.10), 0.40 (S.D. 0.17), and 0.33 (S.D. 0.20), respectively, (p=0.07 for white vs. black).
Conclusions: :
Hand-held SDOCT is a safe and effective means of imaging the ONH in newborns. These data may serve as the beginning of a normative dataset for characterizing development of the ONH as well as for comparison to the neonatal ONH in disease states.
Keywords: imaging methods (CT, FA, ICG, MRI, OCT, RTA, SLO, ultrasound) • optic nerve • anatomy