Real-Time High-Resolution OCT for Imaging Retinal and Choroidal Blood Flow

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Medical Imaging
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Assessing ocular vascular dynamics is crucial for diagnosing and managing various eye conditions.
• Current imaging techniques have limitations in visualizing intravascular flow in real-time.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the feasibility of real-time high-resolution optical coherence tomography (High-Res OCT) for visualizing intravascular moving particles.
• To compare the performance of High-Res OCT with standard OCT in retinal and choroidal vessels.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional study involving 20 healthy eyes and 4 patients with retinal vascular disorders.
• Imaging was performed using a prototype High-Res OCT device and standard SPECTRALIS HRA+OCT.
• Real-time B-scan movie acquisition with eye-tracking was utilized, followed by qualitative assessment of intravascular particle visualization and flow direction.

Main Results:

• High-Res OCT showed significantly superior visualization of moving particles in arteries (80% vs. 50%) and veins (90% vs. 60%) compared to standard OCT.
• High intergrader agreement (AC1, 0.82-0.89) was achieved with High-Res OCT.
• Real-time High-Res OCT visualized dynamic flow patterns and intravascular motion in pathological eyes.

Conclusions:

• Real-time High-Res OCT enables non-invasive visualization of intravascular moving particles in ocular vessels.
• This technique improves flow detectability and offers novel qualitative insights into ocular vascular dynamics.
• High-Res OCT holds potential for future quantitative and translational applications in ophthalmology.