Abstract
Purpose :
To perform a qualitative and quantitative assessment of the foveal microvasculature in eyes with diabetic maculopathy (DM) using optical coherence tomography angiography (OCT-A).
Methods :
Retrospective case series of 50 eyes of 34 patients with DM (14 females, mean age 64.4 ± 9.2 years) and 30 eyes of 30 age-matched controls, evaluated by conventional multimodal imaging and Spectralis OCT-A (Heidelberg Engineering, Heidelberg, Germany). The Full-spectrum amplitude-decorrelation angiography (FSADA) generated optical coherence tomography angiograms of the superficial and deep capillary plexa. Clinical features of DM such as microaneurysms, non-perfused areas and intraretinal micro-vascular abnormalities were qualitatively analyzed and recorded on OCT-A images. Moreover a fully automated micro-structural analysis of the FAZ(area, perimeter, major axis, orientation), foveal vessel’s density and non-perfused areas (in a 1mm radius area) was performed. Quantitative values from diabetic patients were then compared with those of healthy subjects.
Results :
In the superficial capillary plexus, non-perfused areas were present in all DM eyes. Conversely, in the deep capillary plexus, non-perfused areas were detected in a lower number of cases. No significant differences were found in number of microaneurysms between the two capillary plexa. Capillary density values were significantly lower in nearly all layers of DM patients compared with healthy subjects. There was high (p< 0.05) inter-observer agreement both for morphological and quantitative OCT-A imaging analysis.
Conclusions :
OCT-A is a useful technology for detecting DM abnormalities both in the superficial and deep capillary plexa. The fully automated quantitative retinal vascular analysis may offer an objective method for monitoring disease progression and the functional response to treatment.
This is an abstract that was submitted for the 2016 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Seattle, Wash., May 1-5, 2016.