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Retinal Vascular Reactivity as Assessed by Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography
Published on: March 26, 2020
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Subretinal Fibrosis Detection Using Polarization Sensitive Optical Coherence Tomography.
Maximilian G O Gräfe1, Jacoba A van de Kreeke2, Joy Willemse1
1LaserLaB Amsterdam, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Translational Vision Science & Technology
|August 21, 2020
Summary
Polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography (PS-OCT) can reliably detect subretinal fibrosis (SRFib), a cause of vision loss. This advanced imaging method aids in diagnosing challenging cases where conventional methods fall short.
Area of Science:
- Ophthalmology
- Biomedical Imaging
- Retinal Diseases
Background:
- Subretinal fibrosis (SRFib) is a significant cause of irreversible vision loss associated with submacular neovascularization.
- Current diagnostic methods for SRFib lack reliability, hindering timely and accurate patient management.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the efficacy of polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography (PS-OCT) in detecting and characterizing subretinal fibrosis (SRFib).
- To assess the diagnostic performance of PS-OCT in cases with suspected or doubtful SRFib.
Main Methods:
- Utilized PS-OCT to image retinal lesions in 25 patients with suspected or confirmed SRFib.
- Analyzed PS-OCT images for birefringence, cumulative phase retardation, and optic axis uniformity to identify collagen fibers characteristic of SRFib.
- Compared PS-OCT findings with conventional diagnostic assessments made by three retinal specialists.
Main Results:
- PS-OCT successfully scanned 29 eyes, confirming SRFib in 12 out of 13 eyes diagnosed by specialists.
- PS-OCT corroborated the absence of SRFib in all 9 eyes where specialists did not suspect it.
- In cases with inconsistent specialist evaluations, PS-OCT confirmed SRFib in 4 out of 7 eyes and ruled it out in 2 others.
- PS-OCT provided crucial differentiating information in 6 out of 7 eyes with subretinal neovascular lesions.
Conclusions:
- PS-OCT demonstrated high concordance with specialist diagnoses, confirming SRFib in 21 out of 22 eyes.
- PS-OCT effectively distinguishes SRFib from other subretinal tissues, offering valuable diagnostic insights.
- PS-OCT serves as a reliable tool for identifying and quantifying SRFib, particularly in ambiguous clinical scenarios.
