The Relationship between the Mean Height of Contour of the Retinal Surface at the Temporal Disc Margin and the Reference Height in Analyzing Optic Disc using Heidelberg Retina Tomograph

ABSTRACT

The relationship between the amount of posterior displacement of the retinal surface at the temporal disc margin and the reference height(HRef)in analyzing optic disc using Heidelberg Retina Tomograph(HRT;Heidelberg Engineering, Heidelberg, Germany)was evaluated. The displacement was measured as mean height of contour(MHC)in the temporal 40degrees C segment(20degrees C superior and 20degrees C inferior to the horizontal midline)of optic disc. HRef is a value representing the location of the standard reference plane. The accordances of HRef and stereometric parameters between right and left disc were also evaluated. MHC in the temporal 40 degrees C and nasal 40 degrees C segment, HRef, and stereometric parameters of optic disc were measured with the HRT in 244 eyes of 122 subjects. HRef was 0.376+/-0.099 mm in the right disc and 0.385+/-0.090 mm in the left disc. There was good correlation between HRef and MHC in the temporal 40degrees C segment(r=0.97, p<0.01), but poor in the nasal 40 degrees C segment(r=0.29, p<0.01). The accordances of HRef and stereometric parameters increased as the difference of MHC in the temporal 40degrees C segment between right and left disc decreased. HRef was affected by the amount of posterior displacement of the retinal surface at the temporal disc margin, which occurs in instances such as a tilted disc. We should find the method to adjust stereometric parameters to the amount of disc tilt.