Elsevier

Ophthalmology

Volume 111, Issue 6, June 2004, Pages 1238-1243
Ophthalmology

Original article
A 3-dimensional ultrasound C-scan imaging technique for optic nerve measurements

Presented at: ARVO Annual Meeting, May 7, 2003; Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Presented as a poster at: Retina Society meeting, September 20, 2003; Chicago, Illinois.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ophtha.2003.10.026Get rights and content

Abstract

Purpose

To evaluate the use of 3-dimensional ultrasound C-scan imaging for optic nerve diameter measurements.

Design

Prospective observational case series.

Participants

Thirty-eight normal eyes of 32 healthy adults.

Methods

Coronal C-scans of 38 normal optic nerves were imaged 3 mm behind the globe.

Main outcome measures

Optic nerve sheath diameter (ONSD) and optic nerve diameter (OND).

Results

Mean ONSD was 4.8 mm (range: 3.9–5.9; SD 0.6), whereas mean optic OND was 1.9 mm (range: 1.8–2.1; SD 0.1). Mean ONSDs were 4.9 mm (male), 4.5 mm (female), 5.0 mm (subjects younger than 50 years), and 4.6 mm (subjects 50 and older).

Conclusion

Coronal C-scans generated from 3-dimensional ultrasound can be used to measure the optic nerve diameters in adult eyes.

Section snippets

Materials and methods

Approval to conduct this study was given by The New York Eye & Ear Infirmary Institutional Review Board. Prior written, informed consent was obtained from each subject. Thirty-eight normal eyes (21 male and 17 female) of 32 healthy adult subjects were randomly selected to undergo 3DUS using a 10-MHz linear probe attached to a 3D i-scan Ultrasound Tomography System (Ophthalmic Technologies Inc., Toronto, Canada). Subjects had no known ocular or systemic diseases. After instillation of a topical

Results

Of the 38 normal eyes included in the study, optic nerve measurements could be reliably determined in only 23 (15 male and 8 female), or 61% of eyes. This is because the 3-dimensional scans of 15 eyes had motion artifacts, which are caused by eye movement during the 7.5-second scanning time, and the resulting 3-dimensional image becomes too distorted and useless for measurement purposes.

The age of subjects ranged from 24 to 82 years. These subjects had no known ocular or systemic disease. Their

Discussion

The advent of 3DUS has tremendously enhanced the potential of B-scan ultrasonography. In a clinical setting, a single scan devoid of motion artifact would suffice to generate a useful 3-dimensional image block for optic nerve measurements. Using this block, the optic nerve can now be traced and documented along its path in the orbit, and a coronal slice of the nerve can be imaged at a chosen point behind the globe. In the 23 eyes, a coronal image of the optic nerve appeared as a central core.

Acknowledgements

The authors thank Dr Guo-Pei Yu for providing statistical assistance.

References (26)

  • W.D Newman et al.

    Measurement of optic nerve sheath diameter by ultrasounda means of detecting acute raised intracranial pressure in hydrocephalus

    Br J Ophthalmol

    (2002)
  • M.F Mafee et al.

    Ocular and orbital imaging

    Neuroimaging Clin N Am

    (1996)
  • R Unsöld et al.

    Images of the optic nerveanatomic-CT correlation

    AJR Am J Roentgenol

    (1980)
  • Cited by (28)

    • Ultrasonographic Evaluation of Optic Nerve Sheath Diameter among Healthy Chinese Adults

      2016, Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology
      Citation Excerpt :

      Few studies have observed significant factors associated with ultrasonographic ONSD measurements, perhaps because of smaller sample sizes. One study found sex differences in ONSD thickness (i.e., higher thickness in men than in women); however, this result was not statistically significant because of the small sample size (Garcia et al. 2004). A previous study confirmed that ONSD has a linear relationship with ICP (Hansen and Helmke 1997), and a linear covariate relationship between BMI and ICP has been observed elsewhere (Berdahl et al. 2012; Ren et al. 2012).

    • A novel two-axis micromechanical scanning transducer using water-immersible electromagnetic actuators for handheld 3D ultrasound imaging

      2015, Sensors and Actuators, A: Physical
      Citation Excerpt :

      Ultrasound imaging (2D or 3D) has become a useful non-destructive diagnostic technique with a wide range of applications [1,2]. To conduct 3D ultrasound imaging, the time-variant ultrasound field at a 2D array of locations has to be properly recorded for image reconstruction [3–6]. Currently, there are three different methods to achieve 3D ultrasound imaging.

    View all citing articles on Scopus

    Manuscript no. 230395.

    Dr Finger's research is supported by The EyeCare Foundation, New York, New York, and Research to Prevent Blindness, New York, New York.

    The authors have no proprietary interest in the study.

    View full text