Central corneal thickness measurements and ultrasonographic study of the growing equine eye.

This research aimed at determining the central corneal thickness (CCT) of healthy equine eyes through utlising high-frequency ultrasound and ultrasound biomicroscopy, coupled with measuring the axial dimensions with B-mode ultrasound. The influence of age on the globe’s measured dimensions was also analysed, concluding that high-frequency and ultrasound biomicroscopy are beneficial tools for CCT measurements in horses.

Research Methodology

• The study utilised 50 warm-blooded horses with a mean age of 23.0 ± 21.12 months. These subjects were divided into three different age groups for the sake of better analysis.
• The three age groups were 0-6 months, 7-30 months and 31-78 months respectively.
• Two different types of transducers (22-MHz and 50-MHz) were used to carry out corneal measurements.
• The team also measured the Crystalline lens thickness (CLT), vitreous chamber depth (VCD), and axial globe length (AGL) at a frequency of 10 MHz. The depth of the Anterior chamber (ACD) was calculated as a part of the study.
• All eyes were measured under general anesthesia which was unrelated to this study.

Research Findings

• The study found that the mean CCT for the 50 horse eyes measured was 818 ± 41 μm.
• The computed mean values ± SD in millimeters for axial dimensions were AGL 34.7 ± 2.7, ACD 3.4 ± 0.7, CLT 10.0 ± 0.9, and a VCD of 20.4 ± 1.5.
• The researchers found a positive correlation between increasing age in horses and the measured dimensions.
• No significant differences were found between the eyes’ dimensions concerning the horses’ gender or whether it was the left or right eye.

Conclusion

• The study concludes that the high-frequency and ultrasound biomicroscopy used in research are notable high-resolution imaging tools that help record accurate CCT measurements in horses.
• The computed values from this study lend support to previous research findings that show a positive correlation between Rising age and CCT, ACD, CLT, VCD, and AGL in horses.