Erie Elizabeth A, McLaren Jay W, Kittleson Katrina M, Patel Sanjay V, Erie Jay C, Bourne William M
Department of Ophthalmology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN 55905, USA.
Eye Contact Lens. 2008 Nov;34(6):322-5. doi: 10.1097/ICL.0b013e31818b74f4.
To compare subbasal nerve densities estimated from images recorded by the tandem scanning and the ConfoScan 4 confocal microscopes.
Confocal microscopy was used to estimate subbasal nerve density in 62 corneas of 40 subjects (18 corneas of 18 normal subjects and 44 corneas of 22 patients between 1 and 12 months after LASIK). At each examination, corneas were scanned first by using tandem scanning and then by using a ConfoScan 4 confocal microscope. Subbasal nerves from 2 to 4 scans per cornea were traced by using a semi-automated nerve analysis program. Nerve density was expressed as total nerve length divided by the sample area (microm/mm2). Differences in nerve density between instruments were examined by using paired tests.
In normal corneas, subbasal nerve density was 10,658 +/- 5,581 microm/mm2 (mean +/- SD) with the ConfoScan 4 and 5,534 +/- 1,850 microm/mm2 with the tandem scanning microscope (P<0.0001). One to 12 months after LASIK, mean subbasal nerve density was 2,477 +/- 3,514 microm/mm2 estimated with the ConfoScan 4 and 844 +/- 983 microm/mm2 estimated with the tandem scanning (P =0.0003). Estimates of nerve density were correlated between instruments (r = 0.71, P<0.0001), although the mean difference between instruments was 2,308 +/- 3,885 microm/mm2 (P<0.0001).
Mean subbasal nerve density estimated with the ConfoScan 4 was 2 to 3 times higher than density estimated with the tandem scanning confocal microscope. These differences must be considered when comparing subbasal nerve densities between studies that use different confocal microscopes.
比较通过串联扫描共聚焦显微镜和ConfoScan 4共聚焦显微镜所记录图像估算的基底神经密度。
使用共聚焦显微镜估算40名受试者62只角膜的基底神经密度（18名正常受试者的18只角膜以及22名准分子激光原位角膜磨镶术（LASIK）术后1至12个月患者的44只角膜）。每次检查时，先使用串联扫描共聚焦显微镜扫描角膜，然后再使用ConfoScan 4共聚焦显微镜扫描。使用半自动神经分析程序追踪每只角膜2至4次扫描的基底神经。神经密度表示为总神经长度除以样本面积（微米/平方毫米）。使用配对检验检查不同仪器之间神经密度的差异。
在正常角膜中，ConfoScan 4估算的基底神经密度为10,658±5,581微米/平方毫米（平均值±标准差），串联扫描共聚焦显微镜估算的为5,534±1,850微米/平方毫米（P<0.0001）。LASIK术后1至12个月，ConfoScan 4估算的平均基底神经密度为2,477±3,514微米/平方毫米，串联扫描共聚焦显微镜估算的为844±983微米/平方毫米（P =0.0003）。不同仪器之间神经密度的估算值具有相关性（r = 0.7），尽管不同仪器之间的平均差异为2,308±3,885微米/平方毫米（P<0.0001）。
ConfoScan 4估算的平均基底神经密度比串联扫描共聚焦显微镜估算的密度高2至3倍。在比较使用不同共聚焦显微镜的研究之间基底神经密度时，必须考虑这些差异。
