Correlation Between Choroidal Thickness and Ciliary Artery Blood Flow Velocity in Normal Subjects

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Vascular Biology
• Medical Imaging

Background:

• Choroidal thickness (CT) is a key indicator of ocular health.
• Retrobulbar blood flow provides insights into ocular vascular status.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the correlation between choroidal thickness (CT) and retrobulbar blood flow in normal subjects.
• To assess the relationship between spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) measurements and color Doppler flowmetry (CD) findings.

Main Methods:

• Healthy subjects underwent enhanced-depth imaging SD-OCT and color Doppler flowmetry (CD).
• Maximal peak systolic velocity and resistance index (RI) were measured for the ophthalmic artery (OA), short posterior ciliary artery (SPCA), and central retinal artery (CRA).
• These hemodynamic parameters were correlated with subfoveal CT.

Main Results:

• An inverse proportional relationship was observed between the RI of the SPCA and subfoveal CT (P = .0496).
• No significant correlation was found between RI and CT for the OA or CRA.
• Mean subfoveal CT was 319.9 µm ± 83.79 µm, and mean SPCA RI was 0.6117 ± 0.07911.

Conclusions:

• An inverse relationship exists between SPCA resistance index and subfoveal choroidal thickness.
• Decreased choroidal thickness may correlate with increased resistance index in retrobulbar arteries.
• Reduced choroidal blood flow might contribute to thinner choroids in healthy individuals.