Abstract
Purpose :
To describe a method using non-invasive optical coherence tomography (OCT)-based angiography to study the vasculature of the eyelid margin.
Methods :
Images of the lower eyelid margin were obtained using the 3x3mm retina OCT-angiography protocol with a spectral domain OCT system (Cirrus HD-OCT 5000, Carl Zeiss Meditec, Inc., Dublin, CA) using a custom-designed anterior segment adaptor lens and headrest modification. Quantitative analysis of the images was performed with the vessel analysis plugin for Fiji, a distribution of the open source ImageJ software that focuses of biological image analysis (National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA). The vessel density was expressed as a ratio by taking the total vessel area divided by the total area of an analyzed region.
Results :
Thirteen eyes of 10 subjects with a mean age of 64 ± 10 years (range 52–80) were studied. Images of the eyelid margin with clearly visible vasculature were obtained (Figure 1), with excellent visualization of the vascular network as well as Meibomian gland orifices. The mean vessel density was 16.8% with a standard deviation of 7.73%, and a range of 7.65%-35.59%.
Conclusions :
Quantitative measurements of eyelid margin vascular density can be obtained using OCTangiography. This method may provide future insight into eyelid margin disease.
This abstract was presented at the 2019 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Vancouver, Canada, April 28 - May 2, 2019.