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The DTL ERG electrode comes in different shapes and sizes: Are they all good?

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Abstract

Purpose

Although the DTL fiber electrode has been in use in the ERG field for more than four decades, its composition was never clearly defined. We compared five different types of conductive (DTL type) yarn (differing in terms of mass, number of filaments, and crimping degree) in order to determine whether we could identify one that would be better suited for the recording of ERGs.

Methods

Photopic flash ERGs were recorded from five subjects using the following DTL electrodes: 27/7, 22/1, 11/1, 11/1*2, and 22/1*2. Data analysis included amplitude and peak time measurements of the a- and b-waves in the time domain (TD) as well as measurements of specific frequency descriptors of the ERG waveform in the time–frequency domain using the discrete wavelet transform (DWT) approach. The degree of comfortableness was also assessed in 12 subjects with two surveys (Likert 5-point and the ranking scale).

Results

Comparisons of TD and DWT parameters did not permit to identify the best DTL electrode, all yielding comparable measures. There was a slight trend for the largest electrode (22/1*2) to yield the largest response, but this was at the expense of comfort, the 22/1*2 electrode being rated as the least comfortable.

Conclusions

Given the minimal impact the different electrodes had on the amplitude of the signal, we believe that comfort should dictate our choice. It would appear from our results that use of a multifilament electrode is the best choice since one can get an electrode whose size is optimized for the recording of large responses while minimizing the foreign-body sensation due to the small size of each of the filaments that compose this multifilament electrode.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Mr. Tae-Gyung Lee for helping with the ERG data collection and also thank the guidance of Mr. Dylan Vatcher, Ms. Jia Yue You, and Dr. Allison L. Dorfman in the operation of ERG equipment. This study was funded by a grant-in-aid from the Canadian Institutes for Health Research (CIHR) (MOP-126082).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departments of Ophthalmology and Neurology and Neurosurgery, Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre/Montreal Children’s Hospital, Montreal, QC, Canada

    Jungeun Woo, Suna Jung, Mathieu Gauvin & Pierre Lachapelle

  2. Department of Ophthalmology, Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre, 1001 Decarie Boulevard, Glen Site, Block E, Room EM03238 (Program Mail Drop Point EM03211), Montreal, QC, H4A 3J1, Canada

    Pierre Lachapelle

Authors
  1. Jungeun Woo
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  2. Suna Jung
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  3. Mathieu Gauvin
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  4. Pierre Lachapelle
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Pierre Lachapelle.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Statement of human rights

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Statement on the welfare of animals

This article does not contain any studies with animals performed by any of the authors.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

Appendix: DTL comfortableness assessment survey

Appendix: DTL comfortableness assessment survey

Question 1 (Likert)

After each DTL fiber electrode has been placed on your eyes, please indicate your level of agreement with the pertinent statement by circling one of the given responses.

 

Not at all

Slightly

Moderately

Very

Extremely

A is comfortable

1

2

3

4

5

B is comfortable

1

2

3

4

5

C is comfortable

1

2

3

4

5

D is comfortable

1

2

3

4

5

E is comfortable

1

2

3

4

5

F is comfortable

1

2

3

4

5

Question 2 (ranking)

After all the DTL fiber electrodes have been placed on your eyes, please rank (from 1 to 6) the most comfortable DTL fiber electrode.

DTL fiber electrode

Rank

A

 

B

 

C

 

D

 

E

 

F

 

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Woo, J., Jung, S., Gauvin, M. et al. The DTL ERG electrode comes in different shapes and sizes: Are they all good?. Doc Ophthalmol 135, 155–164 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10633-017-9600-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10633-017-9600-3

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