Thursday, August 26, 2021

Progress in SD-OCT Algorithms to Detect Early Biomarkers of Diabetic Retinopathy

Article: New biomarkers may detect early eye changes that can lead to diabetes-related blindness
Source: Indiana University School of Optometry, via ScienceDaily  and NEI
Published: July 26, 2021

The five domains where thickness and frequency content were measured:
A) The full retinal domain. B) The domain from the ISOS junction to the ILM.
C) The domain from the ISOS to the boundary between the IPL and INL.
D) The domain from the ISOS junction to the boundary between the NFL and GCL.
E) The domain from the boundary between the RPE and CH to the ISOS junction.

Researchers conducted a study of spectral-domain ocular coherence tomography (SD-OCT) algorithms to detect early biomarkers in diabetic retinas. One of the study authors argues, "Many algorithms use any image information that differs between diabetic patients and controls, which can identify which individuals might have diabetes, but these can be nonspecific... Our method can be combined with the other AI methods to provide early information localized to specific retinal layers or types of tissues, which allows inclusion of information not analyzed in the other algorithms." In particular, they compared the SD-OCT images of 33 diabetic patients (without diabetic macular edema) with 33 age-matched control participants. According to their results, "Diabetic retinas, although not thicker than controls, had subtle but quantifiable pattern changes in SD-OCT images particularly in deeper fundus layers. The size range and distribution of this pattern in diabetic eyes were consistent with small blood vessel abnormalities and leakage of lipid and fluid. Feature-based biomarkers may augment retinal thickness criteria for management of diabetic eye complications, and may detect early changes."

My rating of this study:

Papay J and Elsner
A. "Quantifying frequency content in cross-sectional retinal scans of diabetics vs. controls." PLOS ONE.  18 June 2021. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0253091

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