Abstract
Purpose:
To assess macular cone photoreceptors density in human eyes operated for retinal detachment (RD) and in contralateral healthy eyes.
Methods:
Patients operated for RD with macular involvement were imaged using the RTX-1 Adaptive Optics (AO) device from Imagine eyes™ (Orsay, France), 6 weeks after the surgery. Cone density (cells/mm2) at a fixed distance from the fovea (1 °), spacing between cells (µ) and percentage of hexagonal cells calculated on Voronoï diagrams, were obtained using AO Detect v.0.1, the proprietary software of the device. Group 1 represented the eyes with history of RD and group 2 the contralateral eyes. Visual acuity (logMAR), refraction, axial length (mm) and the thickness of the different choroid and retinal layers (RPE, IS/OS, LME lines) imaged by SD-OCT (Spectralis®, Heidelberg), were also compared to the cone densities.
Results:
Thirty eyes from 15 patients were studied. Visual acuities decreased in group 1 (0.34 vs 0.1 in group 2, paired t test, p<0.05). There was a reduction in cone density in group 1 (14368±4761/mm2) compared to group 2 (19240±3894/mm2) (p=0.002). In group 1, spacing between cones was increased (11.16±3.34 µ vs 8.65±1.95µ, p=0.01), while the proportion of hexagonal cells was reduced (36.11±5.29% vs. 42.08± 5.16 %, p=0.01). There was also a negative correlation between overall cone densities and visual acuities (R2=0.45). Cone density was also correlated to the thickness of the RPE hyperreflective layer on OCT (R2= 0.21, p=0.02) but neither with central macular thickness nor choroidal thickness.
Conclusions:
Adaptive Optics allowed in vivo imaging of the macular phoreceptors in eyes operated for RD. The cone density was correlated to the visual acuity. OA could represent a valuable prognostic tool after RD surgery.
Keywords: 697 retinal detachment •
550 imaging/image analysis: clinical •
552 imaging methods (CT, FA, ICG, MRI, OCT, RTA, SLO, ultrasound)