Abstract
Objective To evaluate the inter-rater reliability of semiautomated segmentation of spectral domain optical coherence tomography (OCT) macular volume scans.
Methods Macular OCT volume scans of left eyes from 17 subjects (8 patients with MS and 9 healthy controls) were automatically segmented by Heidelberg Eye Explorer (v1.9.3.0) beta-software (Spectralis Viewing Module v6.0.0.7), followed by manual correction by 5 experienced operators from 5 different academic centers. The mean thicknesses within a 6-mm area around the fovea were computed for the retinal nerve fiber layer, ganglion cell layer (GCL), inner plexiform layer (IPL), inner nuclear layer, outer plexiform layer (OPL), and outer nuclear layer (ONL). Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) were calculated for mean layer thickness values. Spatial distribution of ICC values for the segmented volume scans was investigated using heat maps.
Results Agreement between raters was good (ICC > 0.84) for all retinal layers, particularly inner retinal layers showed excellent agreement across raters (ICC > 0.96). Spatial distribution of ICC showed highest values in the perimacular area, whereas the ICCs were poorer for the foveola and the more peripheral macular area. The automated segmentation of the OPL and ONL required the most correction and showed the least agreement, whereas differences were less prominent for the remaining layers.
Conclusions Automated segmentation with manual correction of macular OCT scans is highly reliable when performed by experienced raters and can thus be applied in multicenter settings. Reliability can be improved by restricting analysis to the perimacular area and compound segmentation of GCL and IPL.
Glossary
- ETDRS=
- Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study;
- GCIP=
- ganglion cell inner plexiform layer;
- GCL=
- ganglion cell layer;
- ICC=
- intraclass correlation coefficient;
- INL=
- inner nuclear layer;
- IPL=
- inner plexiform layer;
- OCT=
- optical coherence tomography;
- ON=
- optic neuritis;
- ONL=
- outer nuclear layer;
- OPL=
- outer plexiform layer;
- QC=
- quality control;
- RNFL=
- retinal nerve fiber layer;
- SD=
- spectral domain
Footnotes
↵* Equally contributing first authors in alphabetical order.
↵** Equally contributing senior authors in alphabetical order.
Funding information and disclosures are provided at the end of the article. Full disclosure form information provided by the authors is available with the full text of this article at Neurology.org/NN.
I.G. is now with Neurodegenerative Diseases Group, BioCruces Health Research Institute, Barakaldo, Spain.
The Article Processing Charge was funded by the authors.
- Received October 3, 2017.
- Accepted in final form January 23, 2018.
- Copyright © 2018 The Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. on behalf of the American Academy of Neurology.
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License 4.0 (CC BY-NC-ND), which permits downloading and sharing the work provided it is properly cited. The work cannot be changed in any way or used commercially without permission from the journal.
Letters: Rapid online correspondence
- RE: Multicenter reliability of semiautomatic retinal layer segmentation using OCT
REQUIREMENTS
You must ensure that your Disclosures have been updated within the previous six months. Please go to our Submission Site to add or update your Disclosure information.
Your co-authors must send a completed Publishing Agreement Form to Neurology Staff (not necessary for the lead/corresponding author as the form below will suffice) before you upload your comment.
If you are responding to a comment that was written about an article you originally authored:
You (and co-authors) do not need to fill out forms or check disclosures as author forms are still valid
and apply to letter.
Submission specifications:
- Submissions must be < 200 words with < 5 references. Reference 1 must be the article on which you are commenting.
- Submissions should not have more than 5 authors. (Exception: original author replies can include all original authors of the article)
- Submit only on articles published within 6 months of issue date.
- Do not be redundant. Read any comments already posted on the article prior to submission.
- Submitted comments are subject to editing and editor review prior to posting.
