Sectorization of the central 30 degrees visual field in glaucoma

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Medical image analysis
• Glaucoma research

Background:

• Glaucoma diagnosis and monitoring rely on visual field testing.
• Understanding the spatial distribution of visual field defects is crucial for disease management.
• Current methods may not fully capture the complex patterns of visual field loss in glaucoma.

Purpose of the Study:

• To establish an optimal sector pattern for analyzing the central 30-degree visual field in glaucoma patients.
• To mathematically derive this pattern from visual field data without prior anatomical assumptions.
• To assess the utility of the derived sector pattern and values in glaucoma research.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of 103 visual fields from primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) patients using the Humphrey Field Analyzer 30-2 program.
• Mathematical clustering of test points based on interpoint correlation of deviation values using the VARCLUS procedure.
• Calculation of sector values to summarize visual field performance within each cluster.

Main Results:

• The central 30-degree visual field was divided into 15 distinct sectors.
• Sector distribution showed compatibility with nerve fiber layer projections but lacked complete horizontal symmetry.
• Linear regression indicated that sector values are effective for tracking visual field performance over time.

Conclusions:

• The identified sector pattern and calculated sector values provide a valuable tool for analyzing glaucoma visual field data.
• This mathematical approach offers a novel way to study visual field defects in glaucoma.
• The findings support the use of this sectorization for better understanding glaucoma progression.