Optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) flow speed mapping technology for retinal diseases

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Medical Imaging
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) is a noninvasive imaging technique for visualizing retinal vasculature.
• Current OCTA analysis is primarily qualitative, limiting objective assessment of retinal vascular disorders.
• Existing quantitative OCTA metrics do not capture blood flow velocity information.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce and evaluate the Variable Interscan Time Analysis (VISTA) algorithm for quantitative OCTA.
• To demonstrate VISTA's capability in assessing retinal blood flow characteristics.
• To explore VISTA's potential as a screening tool for retinal pathologies.

Main Methods:

• Development of the VISTA algorithm to process OCTA data.
• Generation of color-coded maps representing relative blood flow speeds.
• Application of VISTA to analyze various retinal pathologies.

Main Results:

• VISTA provides quantitative, depth-resolved maps of retinal blood flow velocity.
• The technique has shown utility in understanding geographic atrophy, choroidal neovascularization, and diabetic retinopathy.
• VISTA overcomes the limitations of traditional OCTA in assessing flow dynamics.

Conclusions:

• VISTA significantly advances quantitative analysis in OCTA.
• This technique offers objective metrics for retinal vascular disease assessment and follow-up.
• VISTA holds promise for enhancing OCTA's role in clinical screening.