Developing a normative database for retinal perfusion using optical coherence tomography angiography

Bingyao Tan, Yin Ci Sim, Jacqueline Chua, Dheo Yusufi, Damon Wong, Ai Ping Yow, Calvin Chin, Anna C.S. Tan, Chelvin C.A. Sng, Rupesh Agrawal, Lekha Gopal, Ralene Sim, Gavin Tan, Ecosse Lamoureux, Leopold Schmetterer*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

13 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Visualizing and characterizing microvascular abnormalities with optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) has deepened our understanding of ocular diseases, such as glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, and age-related macular degeneration. Two types of microvascular defects can be detected by OCTA: focal decrease because of localized absence and collapse of retinal capillaries, which is referred to as the non-perfusion area in OCTA, and diffuse perfusion decrease usually detected by comparing with healthy case-control groups. Wider OCTA allows for insights into peripheral retinal vascularity, but the heterogeneous perfusion distribution from the macula, parapapillary area to periphery hurdles the quantitative assessment. A normative database for OCTA could estimate how much individual’s data deviate from the normal range, and where the deviations locate. Here, we acquired OCTA images using a swept-source OCT system and a 12×12 mm protocol in healthy subjects. We automatically segmented the large blood vessels with U-Net, corrected for anatomical factors such as the relative position of fovea and disc, and segmented the capillaries by a moving window scheme. A total of 195 eyes were included and divided into 4 age groups: < 30 (n=24) years old, 30-49 (n=28) years old, 50-69 (n=109) years old and >69 (n=34) years old. This provides an age-dependent normative database for characterizing retinal perfusion abnormalities in 12×12 mm OCTA images. The usefulness of the normative database was tested on two pathological groups: one with diabetic retinopathy; the other with glaucoma.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)4032-4045
Number of pages14
JournalBiomedical Optics Express
Volume12
Issue number7
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jul 1 2021
Externally publishedYes

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 Optical Society of America under the terms of the OSA Open Access Publishing Agreement

ASJC Scopus Subject Areas

  • Biotechnology
  • Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics

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