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2023 OMIG Abstract

A New Non-Contact Esthesiometer Provides Comparable Sensitivity Measurements as the Cochet-Bonnet Esthesiometer

Luiz Luciano Lamazales1, Ana Balbuena-Pareja1, and Pedram Hamrah1,2

1Center for Translational Ocular Immunology and Department of Ophthalmology, Tufts Medical Center, Boston, MA; 2New England Eye Center, Boston, MA


Purpose: Corneal receptors respond to mechanical, chemical and polymodal stimuli. Cochet-Bonnet esthesiometer (CB) quantifies only mechanical sensitivity and determines hypo- or normal sensitivity. However, hypersensitivity has not been measured to date. Thus, we aim to assess the efficacy of the non-contact esthesiometer (NCE) compared to the CB in patients diagnosed with ocular surface diseases (OSD) with and without ocular pain.

Methods: A prospective cross-sectional study of patients with OSD, with or without ocular pain used NCE followed by CB in both eyes. NCE protocol started at the lowest air pressure and increased it gradually (levels 1 to 5). Measurements with both devices were concluded upon confirmation of the sensation at the lowest stimuli.??Experiencing sensation with the NCE lowest level was considered to represent hypersensitivity.? Paired Wilcoxon Signed Rank tests compared CB and NCE measurements.

Results: Data included 39 patients (age: 62.72±18.16, 28.2% male). The NCE results [median (IQR)] for OD was 3 (2-3), and for OS 3 (2-3.5), were comparable to CB [median (IQR)] for OD and OS 6 (5-6), 6 (6-6), respectively.  NCE level 1 confirmed patients were hypersensitive, which CB was not able to measure differently (=6). Some non-responsive NCE level 5 patients showed positive sensation with CB (<1), suggesting that NCE can not measure severe neurotrophic state.

Conclusions: NCE and the CB yield similar and comparable measurements, indicating their effectiveness in assessing corneal sensitivity in patients with OSD with and without pain. However, in extreme cases, the NCE appears to be capable of differentiating hypersensitive eyes, while the CB can quantify sensation in nearly anesthetic eyes.


Disclosure: N

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