Abstract
Purpose: :
The measurement of donor cornea endothelial cell density (ECD) relies on a subjective selection of cells in the specular field by a technician. With newer large field (450μm x 500μm) specular microscopes, it is unclear if multiple fields need to be measured to ensure accurate cell counts. The purpose of this study was to compare ECD of donor corneas when performing single versus multiple field counts using a large field specular microscope (HAI EB-3000xyz, HAI Laboratories, Lexington, MA).
Methods: :
Central ECD of 10 corneas were each measured by 3 masked technicians, and the ECD using 3 fields of the same corneas (one central field and 2 paracentral fields) were measured by a 4th masked technician. Mean ECD of the 3-field measurements were compared to the central ECD measurements. All technicians were trained and certified by the Eye Bank Association of America.
Results: :
3-field measurements were not significantly different from the central ECD measurements of each technician (p>0.05). Mean difference between the two groups was 2.67%.
Conclusions: :
With the newer large field specular microscopes, there does not appear to be a significant advantage to performing multiple field counts compared to obtaining the central ECD only.
Keywords: cornea: storage • cornea: endothelium • cornea: clinical science