Corneal Reverberation Artefacts On Ocular Ultrasound

Objective: To describe a novel reverberation artifact named corneal reverberation artifact in ocular ultrasound.

Design: Prospective observational study performed in a tertiary eye care centre in India. 

30 eyes with decompensated corneas were grouped into two groups- group A (with positive corneal reverberation on USG) and group B (without reverberation artifact).

Methods:  30 eyes with decompensated corneas were studied to compare the characteristic anterior segment optical coherence tomography (AS-OCT) findings in eyes with reverberations observed on ultrasound (similar to IOL reverberations) and eyes with no reverberations.

Results: ASOCT images in group A eyes revealed a distinct transition from hyperreflective part of the cornea to iso-reflective cornea. A sharp demarcation line could be appreciated between anterior and posterior part of the cornea. ASOCT images in group B eyes did not have any drastic change in reflectivity from hyper to iso-reflective portion of the cornea. A uniform blending of reflectivity between anterior and posterior part of the cornea was noted in group B.

Conclusion:  Sharp difference in reflectivity between anterior and posterior part of the cornea might contribute to the characteristic artifact noted in our patients.