Optical coherence tomography and histologic measurements of retinal and choroidal thicknesses in guinea pig eyes

Background: The purpose of this study was to evaluate optical coherence tomography and histologic measurements of retinal and choroidal thicknesses in guinea pig eyes, and assess the relationships between those thicknesses with spherical equivalent and axial length. Methods: Twelve tri-colored guinea pigs, aged from 5 to 6 weeks, were collected. Spherical equivalent (SE) was measured with a streak retinoscope. Axial length was determined by A-scan ultrasonography. Retinal and choroidal thicknesses were measured by OCT and histology, respectively. Results: The Bland-Altman analysis showed that there were significant differences for retinal and choroidal thicknesses between the OCT and histology. Furthermore, choroidal thicknesses were correlated with SE and axial length, while there were no significant correlations between retinal thicknesses with SE and axial length. Retinal and choroidal thicknesses measured by OCT were positively correlated with histology. Conclusion: Retinal and choroidal thicknesses could be well measured from OCT images and histological sections with reasonable agreement. The degree of myopia and elongation of the globe are associated with thinning of choroidal thickness, while not with retinal thickness.