Quantification of vascular changes in macular telangiectasia type 2 with AngioTool software

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Medical Imaging
• Retinal Diseases

Background:

• Macular telangiectasia type 2 (MacTel2) is a retinal vascular disease.
• Quantitative analysis of vascular changes in MacTel2 is crucial for understanding disease progression.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare vascular parameters (VP) between MacTel2 eyes and normal eyes using AngioTool (AT).
• To assess the correlation between VP and best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA).
• To analyze VP across different grades of the Simple MacTel Classification.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective study utilizing SD OCTA images of superficial (SVC) and deep capillary complexes (DVC).
• Image analysis performed using Image J and AngioTool (AT).
• Evaluated parameters included explant area (EA), vessel area (VA), vessel percentage area (VPA), total number of junctions (TNJ), junction density (JD), total vessel length (TVL), average vessel length (AVL), total number of endpoints (TNE), and mean E lacunarity (MEL).

Main Results:

• Significant differences in most VP were observed between MacTel2 and normal eyes, excluding EA and TNE in both complexes.
• No correlation was found between any VP and BCVA.
• Interquadrant analysis revealed significant differences in VPA, AVL, and JD (SVC) and AVL, TNE, JD, and VPA (DVC).
• Post hoc analysis showed significant differences in TNJ, JD, TVL, and AVL between grade 1 and 3 (SVC), and VA, VPA, TNJ, JD, TVL, and MEL between grade 0 and 3 (DVC).

Conclusions:

• Vascular parameters are significantly affected in MacTel2 eyes.
• VP do not correlate with BCVA, suggesting visual acuity is not a direct indicator of vascular changes.
• Pigmentation is a key factor in MacTel2 progression.
• AngioTool (AT) shows potential as a tool for quantitative measurement of disease progression in MacTel2.