{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,24]],"date-time":"2026-04-24T09:40:04Z","timestamp":1777023604671,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":47,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"8","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,20]],"date-time":"2026-04-20T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1776643200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["JCM"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: Corneal sensitivity is a key indicator of ocular surface health. This prospective, cross-sectional study evaluated agreement between corneal sensitivity thresholds obtained from equivalent stimulus settings on a contemporary, enhanced dual-temperature non-contact corneal aesthesiometer (NCCA) and a previously validated (standard) device. Methods: Central corneal sensitivity thresholds were measured in the right eyes of healthy participants using both devices. Participants with previous ocular surgery, laser treatment, trauma, contact lens wear, diabetes, or peripheral neuropathy were excluded. Sensitivity thresholds were determined using a forced-response, double-staircase protocol. Inter-device agreement was assessed using Bland\u2013Altman analysis, and consistency was assessed using intraclass correlation coefficients. Results: Median corneal sensitivity thresholds in 51 healthy participants (32 female, 19 male; mean age: 33 \u00b1 14 years) did not differ between enhanced (0.23 [0.18 to 0.38]) and standard (0.25 [0.15 to 0.35]) NCCA instruments (p = 0.73). Bland\u2013Altman analysis demonstrated moderate inter-device agreement, with a mean difference of \u22120.01 mbar (95% limits of agreement: \u22120.41 to 0.39 mbar). Linear regression analysis identified greater measurement discrepancies at higher thresholds (p &lt; 0.05), indicating greater variability in individuals with reduced corneal sensitivity. Conclusions: The enhanced NCCA yields reliable corneal sensitivity measures for a room-temperature stimulus and acceptable agreement with the existing (standard) model.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/jcm15083145","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,20]],"date-time":"2026-04-20T13:22:47Z","timestamp":1776691367000},"page":"3145","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Validation and Comparative Analysis of a Contemporary Non-Contact Corneal Aesthesiometer"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0907-8053","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ally L.","family":"Xue","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Ophthalmology, Aotearoa New Zealand National Eye Centre, The University of Auckland, Auckland 1023, New Zealand"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1101-2870","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Alexis Ceecee","family":"Britten-Jones","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Optometry and Vision Sciences, University of Melbourne, Parkville 3053, Australia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0771-3869","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Dian","family":"Zhuang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Ophthalmology, Aotearoa New Zealand National Eye Centre, The University of Auckland, Auckland 1023, New Zealand"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1301-2989","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Catherine J.","family":"Jennings","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Ophthalmology, Aotearoa New Zealand National Eye Centre, The University of Auckland, Auckland 1023, New Zealand"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3421-8916","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Alex","family":"Muntz","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Ophthalmology, Aotearoa New Zealand National Eye Centre, The University of Auckland, Auckland 1023, New Zealand"},{"name":"Institute of Optometry, University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland, 4600 Olten, Switzerland"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3854-2991","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Stuti L.","family":"Misra","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Ophthalmology, Aotearoa New Zealand National Eye Centre, The University of Auckland, Auckland 1023, New Zealand"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1596-2259","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Laura E.","family":"Downie","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Optometry and Vision Sciences, University of Melbourne, Parkville 3053, Australia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8297-5319","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jennifer P.","family":"Craig","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Ophthalmology, Aotearoa New Zealand National Eye Centre, The University of Auckland, Auckland 1023, New Zealand"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,20]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"989","DOI":"10.1038\/sj.eye.6700616","article-title":"Neurotrophic keratitis","volume":"17","author":"Bonini","year":"2003","journal-title":"Eye"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"105","DOI":"10.1016\/0304-3959(82)90092-6","article-title":"Density and organization of free nerve endings in the corneal epithelium of the rabbit","volume":"14","author":"Beuerman","year":"1982","journal-title":"Pain"},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"521","DOI":"10.1016\/S0014-4835(03)00050-2","article-title":"Corneal nerves: Structure, contents and function","volume":"76","author":"Marfurt","year":"2003","journal-title":"Exp. 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