A new approach to keratoconus detection based on corneal morphogeometric analysis.

Abstract

To characterize corneal structural changes in keratoconus using a new morphogeometric approach and to evaluate its potential diagnostic ability.Comparative study including 464 eyes of 464 patients (age, 16 and 72 years) divided into two groups: control group (143 healthy eyes) and keratoconus group (321 keratoconus eyes). Topographic information (Sirius, CSO, Italy) was processed with SolidWorks v2012 and a solid model representing the geometry of each cornea was generated. The following parameters were defined: anterior (Aant) and posterior (Apost) corneal surface areas, area of the cornea within the sagittal plane passing through the Z axis and the apex (Aapexant, Aapexpost) and minimum thickness points (Amctant, Amctpost) of the anterior and posterior corneal surfaces, and average distance from the Z axis to the apex (Dapexant, Dapexpost) and minimum thickness points (Dmctant, Dmctpost) of both corneal surfaces.Significant differences among control and keratoconus group were found in Aapexant, Aapexpost, Amctant, Amctpost, Dapexant, Dapexpost (all p0.05, R2 Nagelkerke: 0.926). The overall percentage of cases correctly classified by the model was 97.30%.Our morphogeometric approach based on the analysis of the cornea as a solid is useful for the characterization and detection of keratoconus.