Abstract
Purpose::
To evaluate the spectral profile of ocular pulse amplitude measurements using dynamic contour tonometry (DCT) in order to differentiate glaucoma patients from healthy subjects
Methods::
Twenty-five eyes of 25 glaucoma patients, defined by abnormal optic discs based on clinical exam and 15 healthy subjects (normal optic nerve head, normal visual field on standard automated perimetry, SAP, and intraocular pressure < 21 mm Hg) were prospectively recruited. Each patient underwent 3 ocular pulse amplitude (OPA) measurements using DCT on one randomly selected eye. OPA was continuously recorded for at least 10 seconds. For each of the OPA recordings, a Fourier analysis was performed. Each fourier analysis was subsequently analyzed with multivariate analysis of discriminance and artificial neural network.
Results::
There was no significant difference in age, refraction, or gender between glaucoma patients and healthy subjects. There was a significant difference in the fourier analyses between the two clinical groups (Wilks lambda = 0.669, p < 0.008). It was possible to detect glaucoma based on the fourier analysis of the OPA with a sensitivity of 80 % at a specificity of 80% and an area under the curve (AUROC) of 0.9.
Conclusions::
Using Fourier analysis it was able to detect differences in the OPA pattern between glaucoma patients and healthy subjects. It seems useful to evaluate the spectral distribution of the OPA to examine if OPA is important in the pathogenesis of glaucoma.
Keywords: optic nerve • optic flow • intraocular pressure