Assessment of Blood Flow Velocity in Retinal Vasculitis Using the Retinal Function Imager-A Pilot Study

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Medical Imaging
• Vascular Biology

Background:

• Retinal vasculitis is an inflammatory condition affecting retinal blood vessels.
• Early diagnosis and monitoring are crucial for managing retinal vasculitis.
• The Retinal Function Imager (RFI) is a novel non-invasive device for assessing retinal blood flow.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the Retinal Function Imager (RFI) for visualizing retinal vasculature in patients with retinal vasculitis.
• To assess blood flow characteristics, specifically blood flow velocity (BFV), in these patients.
• To determine if RFI can detect changes in retinal microvasculature and BFV related to disease duration.

Main Methods:

• A pilot study involving 15 eyes of 8 patients diagnosed with retinal vasculitis.
• Capillary perfusion maps (nCPMs) were generated using the RFI to measure BFV in retinal vessels.
• Patients were categorized into short-term and long-term uveitis groups based on disease duration; data compared to healthy controls.

Main Results:

• Significantly reduced arterial and venous BFV were observed in retinal vasculitis patients compared to controls.
• BFV reduction was more pronounced in the long-term uveitis group, indicating disease progression impact.
• RFI revealed uneven microvasculature distribution, reduced vessel complexity, and fewer vessels in patients.

Conclusions:

• The Retinal Function Imager (RFI) effectively demonstrated reduced BFV in patients with retinal vasculitis.
• BFV alterations are present even in early disease stages and worsen with disease progression.
• RFI shows potential as a diagnostic and quantifying tool for retinal vasculitis, visualizing microvascular changes.