Comparison of Keratoconus Cone Location of Different Topo/tomographical Parameters.

Purpose: To compare the corneal cone location on different maps and instruments, and their agreements, with elevation maps.

Methods

In 90 left eyes with bilateral keratoconus, the apex of cone location was determined based on the maximum simulated keratometry (Kmax) location on the anterior sagittal curvature map by Pentacam HR, the maximum curvature on the mean curvature map by ATLAS 9000, most elevated point of the island of positive elevation relative to the best fit sphere on the front and back corneal elevation maps by Pentacam HR, and thinnest point on the thickness map by Pentacam HR and Orbscan, and the thinnest points on pachymetry and epithelial thickness maps by RTVue OCT.

Results

There was a significant difference among the location on different maps along the x- and y-axes (p < .001). The lowest agreement with the cone apex on both front and back elevation maps was for the anterior sagittal curvature map and the highest agreement for the Pentacam thickness map. The majority of keratoconus cone apexes were displaced in the inferotemporal direction on the different maps except for the epithelial thickness maps.

Conclusions

Despite the variability between different devices and methods; the thickness map on the Pentacam HR showed the highest correlation with the front and back elevation maps, while the RTVue epithelial thickness map showed the poorest correlation. Based on this study, epithelial thickness maps and anterior curvature maps should be utilized with caution to determine the location of the cone.