Abstract
Purpose :
The purpose of the study was to describe findings demonstrated by anterior spectral domain optical coherence tomography (AS-OCT) in various types of deeply embedded corneal foreign bodies.
Methods :
An ex vivo model of calf eyes was used to study seven different foreign bodies deeply embedded in the cornea, consisting of 5 different materials: metal, glass, plastic, pencil graphite and wood. The eyes were photographed and then scanned by AS-OCT. The Images were analyzed to determine distinguishing characteristics for each material.
Results :
Various material presented unique characteristics in AS-OCT. The opaque materials (pencil graphite, metals and wood) demonstrated a hyper reflective anterior border, whereas the posterior border signal could not be clearly identified due to the shadowing effect. Moreover, a chain of signals was characteristic of both pencil graphite and metals though a “mirroring effect” was unique for metals. Wood, as an opaque material, appears as a hyper reflective mass with a spectrum of penetrability depending on the degree of concentration. Transparent materials demonstrated hyper reflective sharp borders when surrounded by air or fluid, as opposed to when being embedded purely in the corneal stroma.
Conclusions :
AS-OCT was used to define a novel set of distinguishing characteristics specific to various materials embedded in the cornea. AS-OCT can be used as diagnostic tool to evaluate corneal foreign bodies.
This is an abstract that was submitted for the 2018 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Honolulu, Hawaii, April 29 - May 3, 2018.