Korean J Ophthalmol.  2014 Apr;28(2):164-169. 10.3341/kjo.2014.28.2.164.

Using ImageJ to Evaluate Optic Disc Pallor in Traumatic Optic Neuropathy

• Kang S
• Kim US

• KMID: 1792111
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3341/kjo.2014.28.2.164

Abstract

PURPOSE
To evaluate optic disc pallor using ImageJ in traumatic optic neuropathy (TON).
METHODS
This study examined unilateral TON patients. The optic disc was divided into 4 quadrants (temporal, superior, nasal, and inferior), consistent with the quadrants on optical coherence tomography (OCT) retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness maps. Optic disc photography was performed and disc pallor was quantified using gray scale photographic images imported into ImageJ software. The correlation between optic disc pallor and RNFL thickness was examined in each quadrant.
RESULTS
A total of 35 patients (31 male, 4 female) were enrolled in the study. The mean participant age was 34.8 +/- 15.0 years (range, 5 to 63 years). Overall RNFL thickness decreased in 6 patients, with thinning most often occurring in the inferior quadrant (28 of 35 eyes). There was a significant correlation between optic disc pallor and RNFL thickness (superior, rho = -0.358, p = 0.04; inferior, rho = -0.345, p = 0.04; nasal, rho = -0.417, p = 0.01; temporal, rho = -0.390, p = 0.02). The highest level of correspondence between disc pallor and RNFL thickness values outside of the normative 95th percentiles was 39.3% and occurred in the inferior quadrant.
CONCLUSIONS
Optic disc pallor in TON was quantified with ImageJ and was significantly correlated with RNFL thickness abnormalities. Thus, ImageJ evaluations of disc pallor may be useful for evaluating RNFL thinning, as verified by OCT RNFL analyses.

Keyword

Fundus photography; Optic disc; Optic nerve injuries; Optical coherence tomography

MeSH Terms

Adolescent
Adult
Child
Child, Preschool
Colorimetry/methods/standards
Diagnosis, Computer-Assisted/*methods/standards
Female
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Optic Atrophy/etiology/*pathology
Optic Nerve Diseases/etiology/*pathology
Optic Nerve Injuries/*pathology
Photography/*methods/standards
Reproducibility of Results
Software
Tomography, Optical Coherence/*methods/standards
Trauma Severity Indices
Young Adult

Figure

• 

  Fig. 1 Optic disc brightness score evaluation method. T = temporal; S = superior; N = nasal; I = inferior. *Largest inferior vessel.

• 

  Fig. 2 Correlation between the optic disc brightness score (horizontal axis) and retinal nerve fiber layer thickness (vertical axis, µm). (A) Superior quadrant (rho = -0.358, p = 0.04). (B) Temporal quadrant (rho = -0.358, p = 0.04). (C) Inferior quadrant (rho = -0.345, p = 0.04). (D) Nasal quadrant (rho = -0.417, p = 0.01). (E) Total disc (rho = -0.390, p = 0.02).

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  Fig. 3 Rate of concordance between the 95% confidence interval area of optic disc brightness and 95% confidence interval area of retinal nerve fiber layer thickness.

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