Abstract
Purpose :
Retinal neovascularization (RNV) is a common feature shared by some diseases, including diabetic retinopathy (DR), retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), and retinal vein occlusions (RVO). As imaging instruments have advanced, they have enabled unprecedented visualization of RNV. We developed a novel multimodal imaging platform with integrated photoacoustic microscopy (PAM), optical coherence tomography (OCT), and fluorescence microscopy (FM) and performed imaging of RNV with in vivo rabbit eyes.
Methods :
A RNV model was induced in adult New Zealand rabbits (n=8) by intravitreal injection of vascular endothelial growth factor rH-VEGF-165 100ug(Shenandoah Biotechnology). The RNV growth of was monitored in vivo at baseline, day 5, day 7, day 14 ,and day 21 by Topcon 50 degree fundus camera and our novel multimodal imaging system.
Results :
Our novel multimodal imaging system shows high contrast images of in vivo rabbit retinal blood vessels, which corresponds to the fundus photograph. Retinal vessels are normal before injection (Fig.1 A-D). RNV was detected 5 days after VEGF injection with leakage on FA. Retinal vessels became dilated and tortuous around the optic nerve head. The PAM maximum intensity projection demonstrates high signal and clear delineation of single vessels with high resolution. OCT demonstrates numerous hyperreflective vascular channels on the inner retinal surface at 5 days (Fig.1 E-H). RNV increased progressively at peak on day 7(Fig.1 I-L). At days 14 and 21, the RNV had resolved on FA, PAM and OCT(Fig.1 M- P). These results were consistent between 8 rabbits.
Conclusions :
Our novel multimodal imaging system with integrated PAM, OCT, and FM can be used for evaluating RNV in vivo in rabbit eyes with high-contrast and high-resolution. The results show that the system has potential application in retinal vascular disease diagnosis, monitoring, and treatment efficacy assessment.
This is an abstract that was submitted for the 2018 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Honolulu, Hawaii, April 29 - May 3, 2018.