Thickness mapping of eleven retinal layers segmented using the diffusion maps method in normal eyes

J Ophthalmol. 2015:2015:259123. doi: 10.1155/2015/259123. Epub 2015 Apr 19.

Abstract

This study was conducted to determine the thickness map of eleven retinal layers in normal subjects by spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) and evaluate their association with sex and age. Mean regional retinal thickness of 11 retinal layers was obtained by automatic three-dimensional diffusion map based method in 112 normal eyes of 76 Iranian subjects. We applied our previously reported 3D intraretinal fast layer segmentation which does not require edge-based image information but rather relies on regional image texture. The thickness maps are compared among 9 macular sectors within 3 concentric circles as defined by ETDRS. The thickness map of central foveal area in layers 1, 3, and 4 displayed the minimum thickness. Maximum thickness was observed in nasal to the fovea of layer 1 and in a circular pattern in the parafoveal retinal area of layers 2, 3, and 4 and in central foveal area of layer 6. Temporal and inferior quadrants of the total retinal thickness and most of other quadrants of layer 1 were significantly greater in the men than in the women. Surrounding eight sectors of total retinal thickness and a limited number of sectors in layers 1 and 4 significantly correlated with age.