Purpose: We compared the fixation stability measurements obtained with two microperimeters, the Micro Perimeter 1 (MP-1) and the Spectral OCT/SLO (OCT/SLO), in subjects with and without maculopathies.
Methods: A total of 41 eyes with no known ocular diseases and 45 eyes with maculopathies were enrolled in the study. Both eyes of each participant had a 20-second fixation test using the MP-1 and OCT/SLO. The bivariate contour ellipse area (BCEA) was used for fixation stability evaluation.
Results: In the normal group, BCEA was 2.93 ± 0.32 log minarc2 on OCT/SLO and 2.89 ± 0.30 log minarc2 on MP-1. In the maculopathy group, BCEA was 3.05 ± 0.41 log minarc2 on OCT/SLO and 3.15 ± 0.46 log minarc2 on MP-1. There was no statistically significant difference between the BCEA measured by OCT/SLO and by MP-1 in both groups. A moderate correlation was found between the two devices (r = 0.45, P < 0.001). The sample size during the fixation test was 535.5 ± 14.6 pairs of coordinates in the normal group and 530.7 ± 14.9 pairs in the maculopathy group with MP-1, while it was 72.3 ± 6.9 and 59.9 ± 10.1, respectively, with OCT/SLO. This was due to different tracking frequencies between the two microperimeters.
Conclusion: Fixation stability assessment yields similar results using the OCT/SLO and MP-1. A major difference in sampling rate between the two microperimeters does not significantly affect BCEA measurements.
Translational relevance: Fixation stability assessments are comparable and interchangeable between the OCT/SLO and the MP-1.
Keywords: comparison; fixation stability; microperimetry.