Invention of Equipment for Globe Sectioning and Comparison of The Section quality with The Standard Technique

Wimonrat Prateepasen¹, Wasee Tulvatana¹, Anocha Sontiganok¹

¹Department of Ophthalmology, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand

Purpose: To invent a new instrument for eyeball sectioning for pathology and to compare the quality of sections between using the instrument and routine manual sectioning.

Methods: A globe sectioning instrument was invented. Twenty pig eyeballs were randomly divided in to two groups: ten eyes were cut with the instrument and ten eyes were manually cut. Three pathologists, unaware of the methods used during eye cutting, evaluated the wet specimens and graded the quality of sections by using visual analogue scale (ranging from 0-100 mm).

Results: The mean (SD) score from the instrument group was 32.1 (14.27) mm. versus the manual group 66.3 (11.05) mm. The mean difference was 34.2 (95%CI 22.2 to 46.1) mm. and the standard error of difference was 5.7 mm. (p<0.001, t-test).

Conclusions: Although we have modified the instrument after the suggestions received at the presentation of the first version (presented at the APAO-AAO joint meeting 2009 in Bali, Indonesia), sectioning of the eyeball with the new instrument gives lower quality of the sections than manual cutting. This instrument needs further adjustment.