Abstract:
To evaluate the HRTII retinal module as an objective tool for grading severity of retinopathy.
77 patients with type 2 diabetes had grading of diabetic retinopathy either by fundus photography or slit lamp examination. These patients were divided into 4 groups with increasing severity of retinopathy from none, mild, moderate, and severe non– proliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR). The patients then underwent scanning laser tomography. The mean edema index was compared between the grades of retinopathy.
There is an increased edema index in severe nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy compared with the other lesser grades of diabetic retinopathy in the outer temporal zone. The area under the ROC curve for the R3 temporal zone was 0.89 (95% CI 0.80–0.99). There was no significant differences among the area under the ROC curves for the other 8 zones between the severe NPDR and lesser grades of retinopathy (all p>0.05).
Analysis of numerical data from the HRTII retinal module demonstrates strong association between increasing edema index in the temporal zone and severe NPDR. The HRTII retinal module may be useful to objectively identify severe NPDR. This application could be used to support screening and monitoring of diabetic retinopathy.
Keywords: diabetic retinopathy • imaging/image analysis: clinical • imaging methods (CT, FA, ICG, MRI, OCT, RTA, SLO, ultrasound)