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CompletedNCT03461991Updated May 23, 2025

Correlation Between In-vivo Anatomy of Corneal Dystrophies as Assessed by High- Resolution Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) Measurement and Histological Examination

An interventional study of Ultrahigh resolution Spectral Domain OCT in Corneal Dystrophy, sponsored by Medical University of Vienna. Completed at 2 sites in Austria. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2025-05-23.

Sponsored by Medical University of Vienna · Not applicable, Interventional, and Diagnostic

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Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
2
Allocation
Not applicable
Ages
18 Years and older
Sex
All
01

Study summary

Corneal dystrophies are usually classified histopathologically according to the layer of the cornea that is affected. The International Committee for the Classification of Corneal Dystrophies (IC3D) takes this anatomical classification as referral with summarizing clinical, genetic, and pathological data.

Most of this classification relies on slit lamp findings or histologic specimen, since in-vivo imaging of corneal microstructures has only become available in the recent years. With confocal microscopy it is possible to image corneal microstructures at a high resolution, but this technique is limited by its reduced repeatability and the fact that only a small area can be imaged. By the use of optical coherence tomography (OCT) systems it is possible to overcome these limitations. Commercially available systems, however, only have an axial resolution of about 18 µm which is not sufficient for imaging of all corneal layers.

Recently, a high-resolution optical coherence tomography (OCT) system was developed at the Center for Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering that enables a resolution of about 1 µm. With this resolution, all corneal structures and several pathologies can be visualized.

In the present study the investigators want to use this OCT system to image corneal dystrophies in patients scheduled for corneal transplantation.

02

Conditions studied

  • Corneal Dystrophy
03

In context

Corneal Dystrophies, Hereditary

31 studies on the registry are indexed under Corneal Dystrophies, Hereditary; 9 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 2 is below the median of 25 across 19 interventional studies indexed under Corneal Dystrophies, Hereditary.

Browse Corneal Dystrophies, Hereditary studies →

Lead sponsor

Medical University of Vienna is the lead sponsor of 1,109 studies on the registry; 184 are open to participants now.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years and older
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.

Inclusion criteria

  • Men and women aged over 18 years
  • Presence of corneal dystrophy
  • Scheduled for corneal transplantation (PK, ALK, DALK, DSAEK or DMEK)
  • No previous corneal surgery in the study eye

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Participation in a clinical trial in the previous 3 weeks
  • Presence of any abnormalities preventing reliable measurements as judged by the investigator
  • Pregnancy, planned pregnancy or lactating
05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Diagnostic
Allocation
Not applicable
Intervention model
Single group
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
2 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Other
    Patients scheduled for corneal transplantation

    Device: Ultrahigh resolution Spectral Domain OCT

Interventions

  • DeviceUltrahigh resolution Spectral Domain OCT

    A spectrometer based ultrahigh resolution Spectral Domain OCT (SDOCT) system operating at 800 nm for the anterior chamber will be employed in the present study. The spectrum of the Ti:Sapphire laser light source is centered at 800 nm. With a full width at half maximum bandwidth of 170 nm, the axial resolution is 1.3 μm in the cornea. The transverse resolution of the employed OCT system is 21 μm at the front surface of the cornea. For measurement, patients will place their head in a modified slit lamp head rest. During the measurement period, patients will be asked to look straight forward onto an internal fixation target and to avoid blinking. Different scattering patterns, e.g. raster, circular and spiral scans will be employed.

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Correlation in measurement of corneal layers in preoperative high-resolution OCT and histological diagnosis of corneal dystrophies of the removed cornea

    Preoperative high-resolution OCT measurement of the corneal layers in the study eye will be performed to assess corneal dystrophies. The corneal tissue removed during surgery will then be sent to the Institute for Clinical Pathology for histological preparation and diagnosis of corneal dystrophies. The correlation between the preoperative measurement and histological diagnosis will be shown to assess the accuracy of measuring corneal layers in high-resolution OCT imaging.

    Time frame: preoperative

07

Study locations

2 sites
  • Vienna Institute for Research in Ocular Surgery (VIROS)
    Vienna, 1140, Austria
  • Department of Clinical Pharmacology, Medical University of Vienna
    Vienna, A-1090, Austria
08

References and documents

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No

No publications or documents are linked to this record.

09

Timeline

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
ElapsedEstimatedEstimated, not yet reached

Ran from Aug 2018 to primary completion in Aug 2022, 48 months.

How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.

Registered
Jan 2, 2018
First posted
Mar 12, 2018
StartActual
Aug 21, 2018
Primary completionActual
Aug 29, 2022
CompletionActual
Aug 29, 2022
Last update
May 23, 2025
What these dates mean
Start.
When the first participant enrolled; while estimated, when the study expects to open to recruitment.
Primary completion.
When the last participant was examined or treated to collect data for the study's main question, its primary outcome. A study that stopped early gives the date its data collection stopped.
Completion.
When the last participant's last visit took place, for every outcome, secondary ones and side effects included: the end of the study. Often later than primary completion, sometimes the same day.
Actual and Est.
Actual means the registry says the date has happened. Est. (estimated) is a date the sponsor plans or expects. It can still move, and the sponsor is expected to change it to actual once it has passed.
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on May 23, 2025, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT03461991
Responsible party
Gerhard Garhofer (Assoc. Prof. Priv.-Doz. Dr., Medical University of Vienna) — Principal investigator
First posted
Mar 12, 2018
Start date
Aug 21, 2018
Primary completion
Aug 29, 2022
Completion
Aug 29, 2022
Last update
May 23, 2025

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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This study is completed, as verified in Apr 2022. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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