Amplitude scaling relationships of Burian-Allen, gold foil and Dawson, Trick and Litzkow electrodes.

The bipolar Burian-Allen electrode represents the International Society for Clinical Electrophysiology of Vision standard for recording the electroretinogram. With prolonged recording there is a high risk of corneal abrasion from the electrode, while alternatives such as gold foil electrodes or fibers represent less risk. The standards require that alternative electrodes be demonstrated to give equivalent waveform and amplitudes. Electroretinograms were recorded with the bipolar Burian-Allen electrode and four alternative electrode configurations: a unipolar Burian-Allen electrode, a bipolar and monopolar gold foil electrode and a Dawson, Trick and Litzkow fiber electrode with all other recording conditions identical. The results represent a guide for comparisons of electroretinograms between studies using these electrodes. Recordings were made from two subjects for all five electrode configurations and six additional subjects with unipolar gold foil and bipolar gold foil electrodes alone. Flash stimuli over a range of intensities from full intensity to -1.5 log units were used. Recordings were repeated in the one session and on a subsequent session to provide test-retest reliabilities. Significant (p < 0.0001) differences in b-wave amplitude resulting from electrode type and intensity were demonstrated. The unipolar Burian-Allen and unipolar gold foil electrodes produced the greatest amplitude responses. The alternatives to the bipolar Burian-Allen electrode were equally or more reliable. The Dawson, Trick and Litzkow electrode produced lower-amplitude response than the bipolar Burian-Allen electrode but was the only one with significantly greater between-session reliability.