J Korean Ophthalmol Soc.  2000 Oct;41(10):2168-2173.

Characteristics of Tear Lipid Layer Patterns on Tearscopy and Lipid Layer Thickness

• Choi SH
• Cho HJ

Abstract

This study is to evaluate thickness of lipid layer, NIBUT (non-invasive tear film break-up time), BUT and Schirmer value according to tearscopic pattern of lipid layer.The subjects are seventy-one eyes from seventy-one people without ocular diseases.The pattern of lipid layer is observed by Tearscope(r) (Keeler, U.K.)and the thickness of lipid layer is measured by interference generated from slit lamp microscope.The thickness of lipid layer, NIBUT and BUT are respectively measured three times and averaged.In the case of the pattern of lipid layer, eighteen eyes have the close meshwork type, twenty-nine eyes have the wave type, fifteen eyes have the amorphous type and nine eyes have the color fringe type.The average value of the thickness of lipid layer, NIBUT, BUT and Schirmer test were respectively 29.3 nm, 25.9 seconds, 12.0 seconds, 18.6 mm for close meshwork;47.2 nm, 33.6 seconds, 12.5 seconds, 16.9 mm for wave;66.2 nm, 39.7 seconds, 14.9 seconds, 18.7 mm for amorphous;and 74.4 nm, 30.9 seconds, 13.9 seconds, 18.9 mm for color fringe.The thickness of lipid layer was different significantly among the patterns.NIBUT showed significant difference between close meshwork and wave, and between close meshwork and amorphous.The Cronbach alpha, reproducibility of the test, is 0.84 in the thickness of lipid layer, 0.64 in NIBUT, 0.76 in BUT and 0.94 in Schirmer test.The reproducibility of the pattern of lipid layer observed by Tearscope(r) is 95.8%.

Keyword

Precorneal tear film; Lipid layer patterns and thickness; Tearscope(r)

MeSH Terms

Tears*