Abstract
Purpose :
This study aims at demonstrating the diagnostic capability of a custom-built compact and stable multi-contrast Jones matrix optical coherence tomography (JM-OCT) for age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Its ability to visualize retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) pathology and flow/vascular abnormality, and visualize/quantify fibrotic pathologies are discussed.
Methods :
A custom-built JM-OCT was used for this study. The system is based on compact and well-packaged polarization components, which enabled highly stable and compact device implementation. The system has a small footprint as small as 30 cm x 40 cm, which is nearly the same size with commercially available retinal OCT, and is nearly two-fold compact than our previous JM-OCT prototype. The system has high long-term stability.
The JM-OCT simultaneously measures multiple-contrast images including a conventional OCT, OCT angiography, degree-of-polarization-uniformity (DOPU), and birefringence, which respectively correspond to structure, vasculature, melanin, and fibrotic tissue. The system is also equipped with an advanced contrast formation method, which selectively contrast RPE-originated-melanin (RPE-melanin).
Twenty-six eyes of 24 AMD cases were investigated, which includes 13 cases of fibrosis, 8 cases of CNV, and 3 cases of hemorrhage. Fifteen of 26 eyes showed fibrotic pathology. All eyes were assessed by color fundus photography. Almost all the eyes were also assessed by fundus autofluorescence ophthalmoscopy (FAF) with 788-nm and/or 800-nm excitation.
Results :
The system was installed at Tokyo Medical University Ibaraki Medical Center and has been in maintenance-free operation for more than a year.
Fig.1 compares the birefringence of subretinal hyperreflective material (SHRM) associated with fibrosis (a, b) and hemorrhage (c, d). The birefringence was computed in the region indicated by yellow circles. The fibrosis shows higher birefringence [2.09 × 10-3 (a) and 1.96 × 10-3 (b)] than the hemorrhage [1.28 × 10-3 (c) and ×1.22 × 10-3 (d)].
Conclusions :
The compact JM-OCT can be used for AMD diagnosis through RPE and vascular pathology visualization. The quantitative birefringence measurement of JM-OCT would be useful for the classification of SHRM and its quantitative evaluation.
This is a 2020 ARVO Annual Meeting abstract.