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Updated: Jan 19, 2026
Quantification of Vascular Parameters in Whole Mount Retinas of Mice with Non-Proliferative and Proliferative Retinopathies
Published on: March 12, 2022
Relating retinal blood flow and vessel morphology in sickle cell retinopathy
Jennifer Cano1, Shayan Farzad1, Maziyar M Khansari1
1Ophthalmology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States.
Purpose:
The purpose of the current study was to determine associations between retinal blood flow and vessel morphology metrics in sickle cell retinopathy (SCR) and healthy normal control (NC) subjects.
Methods:
Optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) and Doppler OCT imaging were performed in 12 SCR (15 eyes) and 19 NC (26 eyes) subjects. Vessel tortuosity was measured using a dedicated image analysis algorithm applied to OCTA images. Vessel density and spacing between vessels were determined from OCTA images by a fractal dimension analysis method. Retinal blood flow was quantified using a phase-resolved technique applied to en face Doppler OCT images.
Results:
There was a significant association between increased retinal blood flow and increased vessel tortuosity (P = 0.03). Furthermore, increased retinal blood flow was associated with increased vessel density (P = 0.03) and decreased spacing between small vessels (P = 0.01). There was no significant association between retinal blood flow and spacing between large vessels (P = 0.11). Vessel tortuosity and blood flow were increased, whereas spacing between small vessels was decreased in SCR compared to NC group (P ≤ 0.03). There were no significant differences in vessel density or spacing between large vessels between the SCR and NC groups (P ≥ 0.31).
Conclusions:
Associations between retinal hemodynamics and vessel morphology were reported, providing better understanding of retinal pathophysiology and insight into potential quantitative biomarkers to evaluate SCR.
