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Features of the choriocapillaris on four different optical coherence tomography angiography devices

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Abstract

Purpose

To investigate the features of the choriocapillaris using four different optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) devices.

Methods

OCTA images of the choriocapillaris from consecutive healthy subjects were obtained with four different OCTA devices (Zeiss PLEX Elite, Topcon DRI OCT-1 Atlantis, Zeiss AngioPlex, and Heidelberg Spectralis OCTA). The 3 × 3 mm OCTA images were processed with ImageJ. The mean vascular density and mean flow void area of the choriocapillaris were compared among devices. Flow voids were analyzed with two different imaging adjustment methods, auto-local threshold with the Phansalkar method and a method using a device-specific threshold value.

Results

The mean vascular density of the choriocapillaris differed among the four devices (all P < 0.001). The mean flow void area as measured with the auto-local threshold method also differed among devices (P < 0.001) and was not correlated among devices (all P > 0.05). Results for mean flow void area measured with a device-specific threshold value using the Plex-Elite and DRI OCT-1 Atlantis were correlated (ß = 2.271, P < 0.001), but there were no correlations among other devices (P > 0.05). For the Plex-Elite and DRI OCT-1 Atlantis, the mean flow void area was positively correlated between the two image adjustment methods (all P < 0.05).

Conclusions

Vascular densities and flow void areas of the choriocapillaris varied according to the device used and the image adjustment method. The characteristics of different devices and the image adjustment method should be considered for analysis of the choriocapillaris.

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Funding

This study was funded by the National Research Foundation of Korea (Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning of the Korean government) (NRF-2017R1C1B5076520).

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Author notes

  1. Cheolmin Yun and Ki Tae Nam have contributed equally to the work and are co-first authors.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ophthalmology, Korea University College of Medicine, 126-1 Anam-dong 5-ga, Sungbuk-gu, Seoul, 136-705, Korea

    Cheolmin Yun, Ki Tae Nam, Seoyeon Park & Jaeryung Oh

  2. Department of Biostatistics, Korea University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea

    Soon-Young Hwang

Authors
  1. Cheolmin Yun
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  2. Ki Tae Nam
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Correspondence to Jaeryung Oh.

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Conflict of interest

Jaeryung Oh is a consultant of Topcon corporation. Other authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Yun, C., Nam, K.T., Park, S. et al. Features of the choriocapillaris on four different optical coherence tomography angiography devices. Int Ophthalmol 40, 325–333 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10792-019-01182-w

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10792-019-01182-w

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