Real-Time, Computer-Assisted Quantification of Plus Disease in Retinopathy of Prematurity at the Bedside

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Plus disease is the primary indication for retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) treatment, but in borderline cases ophthalmologists may struggle to judge whether it is present. ROPtool is a semi-automated computer program that objectively assesses plus disease by measuring retinal vascular tortuosity and width. This study determined ROPtool's bedside diagnostic accuracy concurrent with ROP screening. PATIENTS AND METHODS: ROP screening examinations were recorded using Keeler video indirect ophthalmoscopy. A masked operator traced images in ROPtool at the bedside, comparing ROPtool's plus diagnosis to the examiner's clinical judgment. RESULTS: Four hundred sixty-four examinations (129 eyes of 65 infants) were performed. ROPtool's sensitivity, specificity, and area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for plus diagnosis was 71% (CI: 38%-100%), 93% (CI: 89%-98%) and 0.87, and for pre-plus or worse was 68% (CI: 51%-85%), 82% (CI: 77%-86%) and 0.81, respectively. CONCLUSION: ROPtool can provide a real-time second opinion of plus disease at the bedside. Image enhancement technologies may further improve ROPtool's diagnostic accuracy.