Evaluation of Vitreous Cells Using Swept-Source Optical Coherence Tomography

Abstract

Purpose : The grading of vitreous inflammation has always been a crucial but challenging process in the evaluation of posterior segment uveitis. In this study, we describe our use of optical coherence tomography (OCT) as an objective modality to evaluate cells in the anterior and posterior vitreous.

Methods : A prospective study was performed on a series of patients with posterior segment uveitis who were evaluated at the Uveitis clinic of the Casey Eye Institute, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon, USA. Imaging of the vitreous body was performed using a custom anterior swept-source (SS) OCT, a custom posterior SS-OCT, and a commercial spectral-domain (SD) OCT system. The custom SS-OCT prototypes had a working wavelength of 1050 nm and a scan depth of 4.3~4.8 mm in tissue. The commercial SD-OCT system worked at a wavelength of 840 nm and had a scan depth of 2 to 3 mm in tissue. The anterior vitreous was imaged with the custom anterior SS-OCT while the posterior vitreous was imaged with the custom posterior SS-OCT and the commercial SD-OCT. OCT images were acquired along the horizontal and vertical meridians.

Results : Six patients with clinically identifiable vitreous cells were recruited into the study. The etiologies included ocular toxoplasmosis (n=2), idiopathic intermediate uveitis (n=1), idiopathic anterior uveitis (n=1), and masquerade syndromes such as primary intraocular lymphoma and vitreous hemorrhage. The vitreous cells were clearly defined in the custom SS-OCT images. The commercial SD-OCT system missed the vitreous cells in one case due to its limited depth scan range.

Conclusions : OCT can be used as a modality to visualize cells in the anterior and posterior vitreous. It offers the potential for an objective evaluation of the inflammatory cells in the human vitreous.

This is an abstract that was submitted for the 2018 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Honolulu, Hawaii, April 29 - May 3, 2018.