Deviation Maps for Understanding Thickness Changes of Inner Retinal Layers in Children with Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Medical Imaging
• Diabetology

Background:

• Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) can affect retinal layers.
• Optical coherence tomography (OCT) provides detailed retinal imaging.
• Analyzing complex OCT data for subtle changes can be challenging.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate deviation maps (DevMs) for analyzing inner retinal layer thickness changes in OCT data.
• To test a new visual analytics (VA) method for simplified OCT data analysis.
• To compare retinal layer thickness in children with T1DM to healthy controls.

Main Methods:

• OCT macular volume scans were obtained from children with T1DM and healthy controls.
• Segmented inner retinal layers were analyzed using VA.
• DevMs were generated to visualize and compare thickness differences.

Main Results:

• DevMs revealed localized retinal thinning in the total retina and retinal nerve fiber layer in the T1DM group.
• Significant thinning was observed in the foveal center, inner macula, and outer macula.
• Individual patient DevMs showed notable thickness changes in inner retinal layers, even in early diabetes stages.

Conclusions:

• The VA method simplifies OCT data analysis for detecting retinal thickness changes in diabetic children.
• DevMs are effective in identifying subtle retinal alterations associated with T1DM.
• This VA approach is suitable for clinical settings and multidisciplinary research.