Abstract
Purpose: :
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the correlation between the retinal blood flow assessed by the retinal functional imager (RFI) and central macular thickness/volume assessed by the scanning laser ophthalmoscopy-optical coherence tomography (SLO-OCT) system.
Methods: :
Seventeen eyes of fourteen consecutive patients with various ocular diseases were examined. Retinal blood circulation characteristics were measured using RFI. Retinal thickness/volume parameters were obtained by SLO-OCT. Analysis of correlation between retinal blood flow velocity and SLO-OCT findings was performed.
Results: :
The analysis of correlation between retinal blood flow and central retinal thickness/volume (5X5 mm grid pattern) showed a strong correlation between the average blood flow velocity in retinal veins and central retinal volume. A linear relationship between the retinal blood velocity in veins and center, middle ring, outer ring and total central squares of macular volume (correlation coefficient 0.86 (p=0.00001); 0.89 (p=0.000001); 0.82 (p=0.0004); 0.85 (p=0.00001), respectively) has been observed. Arterial blood flow velocity was correlated neither with thickness nor with volume of the central retina.
Conclusions: :
Blood flow velocity in retinal veins, analyzed by RFI, significantly correlates with the volume of central retina. Vein blood velocity increases with the increase of the central retinal volume. Assessment using RFI provides useful information and may contribute to the further understanding of hemodynamics in the retina blood vessels.
Keywords: imaging methods (CT, FA, ICG, MRI, OCT, RTA, SLO, ultrasound) • imaging/image analysis: clinical • vascular occlusion/vascular occlusive disease