Study compares grading of retinal atrophy using SD-OCT and SS-OCTA imaging

En face optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging provides a more comprehensive assessment of retinal atrophy, particularly for identifying complete atrophy (cRORA), according to a study.

In the study, patients underwent same-day imaging with both SD-OCT (Spectralis, Heidelberg) and SS-OCTA (PLEX Elite 9000, Zeiss) using a 6 × 6 mm macular scan protocol. Researchers graded cRORA and iRORA lesions based on SD-OCT B-scans and evaluated hyperTDs on en face SS-OCTA images.

The study found a 99.6% agreement between cRORA lesions identified by B-scans and persistent hyperTDs on en face images. However, 27.4% of iRORA lesions were included within persistent hyperTDs. A key reason for this discrepancy was that some iRORA lesions measured smaller than 250 µm horizontally on B-scans but exceeded 250 µm in other dimensions on en face images.

These findings highlight the value of en face imaging for detecting the full extent of retinal atrophy, especially for cRORA.

Reference
Cheng Y, Fleckenstein M, Schmitz-Valckenberg MS, et al. Comparison between OCT B-scan and En Face Imaging for the Diagnosis of Early Macular Atrophy in Age-Related Macular Degeneration. Am J Ophthalmol. 2024;S0002-9394(24)00473-2. doi: 10.1016/j.ajo.2024.10.002. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 39389406.

This content is independent editorial sponsored by Astellas. Astellas had no input in the development of this content.