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Updated: Aug 20, 2026
Optical Coherence Tomography: Imaging Mouse Retinal Ganglion Cells In Vivo
Published on: September 22, 2017
Optical coherence tomography detects characteristic retinal nerve fiber layer thickness corresponding to band atrophy
Akiyasu Kanamori1, Makoto Nakamura, Noriko Matsui
1Department of Organ Therapeutics, Division of Ophthalmology, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Kobe, Japan. kanaaki@med.kobe-u.ac.jp
Objectives:
To analyze retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness in eyes with band atrophy by use of optical coherence tomography (OCT) and to evaluate the ability of OCT to detect this characteristic pattern of RNFL loss.
Design:
Cross-sectional, retrospective study.
Participants:
Thirty-four eyes of 18 patients with bitemporal hemianopia caused by optic chiasm compression by chiasmal tumors were studied. All eyes were divided into 3 groups according to visual field loss grading after Goldmann perimetry.
Interventions:
Retinal nerve fiber layer thickness measurements with OCT.
Main Outcome Measures:
Retinal nerve fiber layer thickness around the optic disc was measured by OCT (3.4-mm diameter circle). Calculation of the changes in OCT parameters, including the horizontal (nasal + temporal quadrant RNFL thickness) and vertical values (superior + inferior quadrant RNFL thickness) was based on data from 160 normal eyes. Comparison between the 3 visual field grading groups was done with the analysis of variance test. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve for the horizontal and vertical value were calculated, and the areas under the curve (AUC) were compared.
Results:
Retinal nerve fiber layer thickness in eyes with band atrophy decreased in all OCT parameters. The reduction rate in average and temporal RNFL thickness and horizontal value was correlated with visual field grading. The AUC of horizontal value was 0.970+/-0.011, which was significantly different from AUC of vertical value (0.903+/-0.022).
Conclusions:
The degree of RNFL thickness reduction correlated with that of visual field defects. Optical coherence tomography was able to identify the characteristic pattern of RNFL loss in these eyes.
