Three-dimensional analysis of measurements of the Heidelberg Retina Tomograph

Abstract 

Background: With the aid of scanning laser tomography, feasible with the Heidelberg Retina Tomograph (HRT), refined structures can be measured three-dimensionally. Pictures are built up from scanned layers which are represented as two-dimensional topographical or reflectivity pictures by the HRT software. The kind of information that is provided by the third dimension can be exploited much better by real spatial three-dimensional presentation. The autostereoscopic Dresden 3D display makes such a spatial presentation feasible as add-on to the HRT. Methods: Seventeen patients (9 women, 8 men) were chosen on the basis of a long duration of observation (mean 42.41 months) and a large number of follow-up examinations (mean 5.29). These patients were examined with the HRT as well as with the Dresden 3D display. The results were compared regarding their correlation pairs. Results: Comparing the correlation pairs (r>0.7) the Dresden 3D display provided a higher Pearson correlation coefficient with 8 out of 10 pairs. It was evident that the evaluations of the two devices referred to the same parallel structures. Discussion: The Dresden 3D display facilitates, with its form of presentation, a better evaluation of the measurements of the HRT. More precise evaluation of retinal structures by virtue of the autostereoscopic display presents an improvement.