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. 2017 Feb 23;8(3):1741-1753.
doi: 10.1364/BOE.8.001741. eCollection 2017 Mar 1.

Quantitative characteristics of sickle cell retinopathy in optical coherence tomography angiography

Minhaj Alam  1 , Damber Thapa  1 , Jennifer I Lim  2 , Dingcai Cao  2   3 , Xincheng Yao  1   2   4
Affiliations

Quantitative characteristics of sickle cell retinopathy in optical coherence tomography angiography

Minhaj Alam et al. Biomed Opt Express. .

Abstract

Early detection is an essential step for effective intervention of sickle cell retinopathy (SCR). Emerging optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) provides excellent three-dimensional (3D) resolution to enable label-free, noninvasive visualization of retinal vascular structures, promising improved sensitivity in detecting SCR. However, quantitative analysis of SCR characteristics in OCTA images is yet to be established. In this study, we conducted comprehensive analysis of six OCTA parameters, including blood vessel tortuosity, vessel diameter, vessel perimeter index (VPI), area of foveal avascular zone (FAZ), contour irregularity of FAZ and parafoveal avascular density. Compared to traditional retinal thickness analysis, five of these six OCTA parameters show improved sensitivity for SCR detection than retinal thickness. It is observed that the most sensitive parameters were the contour irregularity of FAZ in the superficial layer and avascular density in temporal regions, while the area of FAZ, tortuosity and mean diameter of the vessel were moderately sensitive.

Keywords: (170.3880) Medical and biological imaging; (170.4470) Ophthalmology; (170.4500) Optical coherence tomography; (170.4580) Optical diagnostics for medicine; (330.4270) Vision system neurophysiology; (330.4300) Vision system - noninvasive assessment; (330.5380) Physiology.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Measuring tortuosity of OCTA images. (a) OCTA raw image, (b) Segmented large blood vessel map, (c) Skeletonized blood vessels branches with identified endpoints (for a random vessel branch, A and B endpoints are shown with red dots), (d) Comparison of tortuosity in control and SC patients (error bars are standard deviations).
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Comparison of mean diameter of blood vessels in control and SC patients (superficial layer).
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
(a) Vessel perimeter map, (b) Comparison of VPI in control and SCD patients (superficial layer).
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
(a) OCTA image with demarcation for normal eye, (b) Segmented Avascular region for normal eye (c) FAZ contour for normal eye, (d) OCTA image with demarcation for diseased eye, (e) Segmented avascular region for diseased eye, (f) FAZ contour for diseased eye, (g) Comparison of area of FAZ in control and SCD patients for deep and superficial layers, (h) Comparison of area of FAZ in control and SCD patients for deep and superficial layers.
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
Contour maps created with normalized values of local fractal dimension. (a) Circular zones of diameter 1, 2 and 3mm, (b) Nasal, Superior, Temporal and Inferior regions. FD analysis was conducted on the different regions specified in a and b.
Fig. 6
Fig. 6
Comparison of vascular density in different sections of the OCTA image in control and patient eyes. Control eye: (a) Avascular region density, (b) Vessel density, (c) Grey zone density; Patient eye: (d) Avascular region density, (e) Vessel density, (f) Grey zone density.
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