Optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) [1] [2] [3] [4] is a non-invasive imaging technique based on optical coherence tomography (OCT) developed to visualize vascular networks in the human retina, [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] choroid, [10] [11] [12] [13] skin [14] and various animal models. [15] [16] [17] OCTA may make use of speckle variance optical coherence tomography.
OCTA uses motion contrast between cross-sectional OCT scans (B-frames) to differentiate blood flow from static tissue, enabling imaging of vascular anatomy. [4] [18] To correct for patient movement during scanning, bulk tissue changes in the axial direction are eliminated, ensuring that all detected changes are due to red blood cell movement. [18] This form of OCT requires a very high sampling density in order to achieve the resolution needed to detect the tiny capillaries found in the retina. [18] [19] This has allowed OCTA to obtain detailed images of retinal vasculature in the human retina [20] and become widely used clinically to diagnose a variety of eye diseases, such as age related macular degeneration (AMD), [21] diabetic retinopathy (DR), [22] [23] artery and vein occlusions, and glaucoma. [24] [18]
While conventional dye-based angiography is still the common gold standard, OCTA has been evaluated and used across many diseases. [4] [5] [25] OCTA was first introduced in clinical eyecare in 2014. [26]
OCTA has applications in several diseases, including leading causes of blindness such as glaucoma [24] and age-related macular degeneration. [27] In diabetic retinopathy (DR), OCTA was shown to resolve previously established markers of severe disease (i.e., vitreous proliferation). Moreover, OCTA was shown to provide a plethora of additional biomarkers including subclinical loss of vessel density. [28] [29] [30] [31] Thus, OCTA may offer in future the potential to monitor the progression of DR at an earlier, pre-clinical state. Similarly, OCTA was shown to provide more refined information compared to dye-based angiography in other vascular occlusive diseases such as central (or branch) retinal vein occlusion. [32] [33]
OCTA detects moving particles (red blood cells) by comparing sequential B-scans at the same cross-sectional location. To simply put it, the backscattered light reflected back from static samples would remain the same over multiple B-scans while the backscattered light reflected back from moving samples would fluctuate. Multiple algorithms have been proposed and utilized to contrast such motion signals from static signals in various biological tissues. [34] [35] [36] [3] [37] [38]
An algorithm developed by Jia et al. [1] is used to determine blood flow in the retina. The split-spectrum amplitude decorrelation angiography (SSADA) algorithm calculates the decorrelation in the reflected light that is detected by the OCT device.
The blood vessels are where the most decorrelation occurs allowing them to be visualized, while static tissue has low decorrelation values. [39] The equation takes into account fluctuations of the received signal amplitude or intensity over time. Greater fluctuations receive a greater decorrelation value and indicate more movement.
A significant challenge when trying to image the eye is patient movement and saccadic movement of the eye. Movement introduces a lot of noise into the signal making tiny vessels impossible to distinguish. One approach to decreasing the influence of movement on signal detection is to shorten the scanning time. A short scan time prevents too much patient movement during signal acquisition. With the development of Fourier-domain OCT, spectral-domain OCT, and swept source signal acquisition time was greatly improved making OCTA possible. [40] OCTA scan time is now around three seconds, however, saccadic eye movement still causes a low signal-to-noise ratio. This is where SSADA proves to be very advantageous as it is able to greatly improve SNR by averaging the decorrelation across the number of B-scans, making the microvasculature of the retina visible. [39]
Initial efforts to measure blood flow using OCT utilized the Doppler effect. [41] [42] By comparing the phase of successive A-mode scans, the velocity of blood flow can be determined via the Doppler equation. This was deemed Optical Doppler Tomography; the development of spectral domain OCT (SD-OCT) and swept-source OCT (SS-OCT) greatly improved scan times since this phase information was readily accessible. Still, Doppler techniques were fundamentally limited by bulk eye motion artefacts, especially as longer scan times became important for increasing sensitivity. [43] In the mid-2000s systems began compensating for bulk eye motion, which significantly reduced motion artefacts. Systems also began to measure the variance and power of the Doppler phase between successive A-mode and B-mode scans; later it was shown that successive B-mode scans must be corrected for motion and the phase variance data must be thresholded to remove bulk eye motion distortion. [43] [2] [44] [45]
By 2012, split spectrum amplitude decorrelation was shown to be effective at increasing SNR and decreasing motion artefacts. [37] Commercial OCT-A devices also emerged around this time, beginning with the OptoVue AngioVue in 2014 (SD-OCT) and the Topcon Atlantis/Triton soon after (SS-OCT). [43]
The most common angiographic techniques were fluorescein (FA) or indocyanine green angiography (ICGA), which both involve the use of an injectable dye. Intravenous dye injection is time-consuming and can have adverse side effects. Furthermore, the edges of the capillaries can become blurred due to dye leakage and imaging of the retina can only be 2D when using this method. [40] With OCTA, dye injection is not needed making the imaging process faster and more comfortable while at the same time improving the quality of the image.
The current gold standards of angiography, fluorescein angiography (FA) and indocyanine green angiography (ICGA), both require dye to be injected. [46] [47]
OCTA does not need dye but is susceptible to motion artefacts. The dyes used in FA and ICGA can cause nausea, vomiting, and general discomfort, and only have an effective lifetime on the order of a few minutes. [48]
From a physics perspective, both dye-based methods utilize the phenomenon of fluorescence. For FA, this corresponds to an excitation wavelength of blue (around 470 nm) and an emission wavelength near yellow (520 nm). [49] For IGCA, the newer method, the excitation wavelength is between 750 and 800 nm while emission occurs above 800 nm. [50]
Diabetic retinopathy, is a medical condition in which damage occurs to the retina due to diabetes. It is a leading cause of blindness in developed countries.
Microangiopathy is a disease of the microvessels, small blood vessels in the microcirculation. It can be contrasted to macroangiopathies such as atherosclerosis, where large and medium-sized arteries are primarily affected.
The National Eye Institute (NEI) is part of the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The mission of NEI is "to eliminate vision loss and improve quality of life through vision research." NEI consists of two major branches for research: an extramural branch that funds studies outside NIH and an intramural branch that funds research on the NIH campus in Bethesda, Maryland. Most of the NEI budget funds extramural research.
Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is an imaging technique that uses interferometry with short-coherence-length light to obtain micrometer-level depth resolution and uses transverse scanning of the light beam to form two- and three-dimensional images from light reflected from within biological tissue or other scattering media. Short-coherence-length light can be obtained using a superluminescent diode (SLD) with a broad spectral bandwidth or a broadly tunable laser with narrow linewidth. The first demonstration of OCT imaging was published by a team from MIT and Harvard Medical School in a 1991 article in the journal Science. The article introduced the term "OCT" to credit its derivation from optical coherence-domain reflectometry, in which the axial resolution is based on temporal coherence. The first demonstrations of in vivo OCT imaging quickly followed.
Scanning laser ophthalmoscopy (SLO) is a method of examination of the eye. It uses the technique of confocal laser scanning microscopy for diagnostic imaging of the retina or cornea of the human eye.
The retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) or nerve fiber layer, stratum opticum, is part of the anatomy of the eye.
Macular hypoplasia is a rare medical condition involving the underdevelopment of the macula, a small area on the retina responsible for seeing in detail and sensing light. Macular hypoplasia is often associated with albinism.
Charcot–Bouchard aneurysms are aneurysms of the brain vasculature which occur in small blood vessels. Charcot–Bouchard aneurysms are most often located in the lenticulostriate vessels of the basal ganglia and are associated with chronic hypertension. Charcot–Bouchard aneurysms are a common cause of cerebral hemorrhage. Charcot–Bouchard aneurysm rupture might be linked to senile plaque formation in the Alzheimer's disease.
Acute posterior multifocal placoid pigment epitheliopathy (APMPPE) is an acquired inflammatory uveitis that belongs to the heterogenous group of white dot syndromes in which light-coloured (yellowish-white) lesions begin to form in the macular area of the retina. Early in the course of the disease, the lesions cause acute and marked vision loss that ranges from mild to severe but is usually transient in nature. APMPPE is classified as an inflammatory disorder that is usually bilateral and acute in onset but self-limiting. The lesions leave behind some pigmentation, but visual acuity eventually improves even without any treatment.
Fundus photography involves photographing the rear of an eye, also known as the fundus. Specialized fundus cameras consisting of an intricate microscope attached to a flash enabled camera are used in fundus photography. The main structures that can be visualized on a fundus photo are the central and peripheral retina, optic disc and macula. Fundus photography can be performed with colored filters, or with specialized dyes including fluorescein and indocyanine green.
Choroidal neovascularization (CNV) is the creation of new blood vessels in the choroid layer of the eye. Choroidal neovascularization is a common cause of neovascular degenerative maculopathy commonly exacerbated by extreme myopia, malignant myopic degeneration, or age-related developments.
Macular telangiectasia is a condition of the retina, the light-sensing tissue at the back of the eye that causes gradual deterioration of central vision, interfering with tasks such as reading and driving.
Intraretinal microvascular abnormalities (IRMA) are abnormalities of the blood vessels that supply the retina of the eye, a sign of diabetic retinopathy. IRMA can be difficult to distinguish from and is likely a precursor to retinal neovascularization. One way to distinguish IRMA from retinal neovascularization is to perform fluorescein angiography. Since IRMA blood vessels are patent, unlike neovascular vessels, they do not leak, and therefore exhibit hyperfluorescence on fluorescein angiography.
Branch retinal vein occlusion is a common retinal vascular disease of the elderly. It is caused by the occlusion of one of the branches of central retinal vein.
Teleophthalmology is a branch of telemedicine that delivers eye care through digital medical equipment and telecommunications technology. Today, applications of teleophthalmology encompass access to eye specialists for patients in remote areas, ophthalmic disease screening, diagnosis and monitoring; as well as distant learning.
Geographic atrophy (GA), also known as atrophic age-related macular degeneration (AMD) or advanced dry AMD, is an advanced form of age-related macular degeneration that can result in the progressive and irreversible loss of retinal tissue (photoreceptors, retinal pigment epithelium, choriocapillaris) which can lead to a loss of visual function over time. It is estimated that GA affects over 5 million people worldwide and approximately 1 million patients in the US, which is similar to the prevalence of neovascular (wet) AMD, the other advanced form of the disease.
Speckle variance optical coherence tomography (SV-OCT) is an imaging algorithm for functional optical imaging. Optical coherence tomography is an imaging modality that uses low-coherence interferometry to obtain high resolution, depth-resolved volumetric images. OCT can be used to capture functional images of blood flow, a technique known as optical coherence tomography angiography (OCT-A). SV-OCT is one method for OCT-A that uses the variance of consecutively acquired images to detect flow at the micron scale. SV-OCT can be used to measure the microvasculature of tissue. In particular, it is useful in ophthalmology for visualizing blood flow in retinal and choroidal regions of the eye, which can provide information on the pathophysiology of diseases.
Sickle cell retinopathy can be defined as retinal changes due to blood vessel damage in the eye of a person with a background of sickle cell disease. It can likely progress to loss of vision in late stages due to vitreous hemorrhage or retinal detachment. Sickle cell disease is a structural red blood cell disorder leading to consequences in multiple systems. It is characterized by chronic red blood cell destruction, vascular injury, and tissue ischemia causing damage to the brain, eyes, heart, lungs, kidneys, spleen, and musculoskeletal system.
Cynthia Ann Toth is an American ophthalmologist who is Distinguished Professor of Ophthalmology at Duke University. Toth has pioneered the use of optical coherence tomography to better understand, diagnose and treat macular disease. She was awarded the 2021 Retina Research Foundation Pyron Award.
Richard Frederick Spaide is an American ophthalmologist and retinal specialist known for his work in retinal diseases and advancements in ocular imaging techniques.