Time domain and spectral domain optical coherence tomography in multiple sclerosis: a comparative cross-sectional study

Conventional time domain optical coherence tomography has been established for the in vivo assessment of retinal axonal loss in multiple sclerosis. The innovative spectral domain imaging is superior to the conventional technique with respect to data acquisition speed, resolution and reproducibility. However, until now comparability of the two techniques has not been investigated in multiple sclerosis. In this study involving 55 multiple sclerosis patients, data obtained using both techniques (Stratus time domain optical coherence tomography and Cirrus spectral domain optical coherence tomography, Carl Zeiss Meditec) showed an excellent correlation (Pearson's r=0.926, p < 0.001). However, owing to considerable differences in absolute retinal nerve fibre layer measurements (mean +/- standard deviation 8.1 mu m +/- 6.2, range -12 to 23 mu m), results from the two devices are not interchangeable.