This Article  • Full text  • PDF  • Reply to article  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Citation map  • Citing articles on HighWire  • Citing articles on ISI (1)  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Related articles  • Similar articles in this journal  Topic Collections  • Pediatric Ophthalmology  • Retinal/ Chorioretinal Disorders  • Diagnosis  • Alert me on articles by topic

David K. Wallace, MD, MPH; Sharon F. Freedman, MD; Zheen Zhao, PhD; Sin-Ho Jung, PhD

Arch Ophthalmol. 2007;125(11):1523-1530.

Objective  To prospectively determine if tortuosity assessment by a computer program (ROPtool) that traces retinal blood vessels and measures their tortuosity was more accurate than that of individual pediatric ophthalmologists.

Methods  One hundred eighty-five high-quality RetCam images from premature infants were circulated to 3 retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) experts and 3 other pediatric ophthalmologists ("examiners") who graded the tortuosity in each quadrant as normal, pre-plus, or plus. These same images were analyzed using ROPtool.

Results  Using expert consensus as the standard, ROPtool's overall accuracy of 95% (175 of 185) for identifying tortuosity sufficient for plus disease was similar to that of examiner 1 (93%; 172 of 185; P = .50), examiner 2 (93%; 172 of 185; P = .50), and examiner 3 (91%; 168 of 185; P = .10). ROPtool's sensitivity of 97% (36 of 37) compared favorably with that of examiner 1 (65%; 24 of 37; P < .001), examiner 2 (70%; 26 of 37; P < .001), and examiner 3 (81%; 30 of 37; P = .06).

Conclusion  Computer-assisted analysis of retinal images can potentially reduce subjectivity in the diagnosis of plus disease and optimize timing of follow-up and treatment for ROP.

Author Affiliations: Departments of Ophthalmology (Drs Wallace and Freedman), Pediatrics (Drs Wallace and Freedman), Psychiatry (Dr Zhao), and Biostatistics and Bioinformatics (Dr Jung), Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina.

RELATED ARTICLES

Telemedical Retinopathy of Prematurity Diagnosis: Accuracy, Reliability, and Image Quality
Michael F. Chiang, Lu Wang, Mihai Busuioc, Yunling E. Du, Patrick Chan, Steven A. Kane, Thomas C. Lee, David J. Weissgold, Audina M. Berrocal, Osode Coki, John T. Flynn, and Justin Starren
Arch Ophthalmol. 2007;125(11):1531-1538.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Technology and Retinopathy of Prematurity Diagnosis: The New Frontier
William V. Good
Arch Ophthalmol. 2007;125(11):1562-1563.
EXTRACT | FULL TEXT  

THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES

Technology and Retinopathy of Prematurity Diagnosis: The New Frontier
Good
Arch Ophthalmol 2007;125:1562-1563.
FULL TEXT