%0 Journal Article
%T Volume-accumulated reflectivity of the outer retina (integral) on spectral domain optical coherence tomography as a predictor of cone cell density: a pilot study.
%A Li W
%A Chen W
%A Zhou X
%A Jiang T
%A Zhang J
%A Wang M
%A Wu J
%A Gu J
%A Chang Q
%J BMC Ophthalmol
%V 23
%N 1
%D Mar 2023 14
%M 36918830
%F 2.086
%R 10.1186/s12886-023-02827-2
%X BACKGROUND: The study aims to investigate the relationship between the volume-accumulated reflectivity (termed "integral") on spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) and cone density on adaptive optics (AO) imaging.
METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, both eyes of 32 healthy subjects and 5 patients with inherited retinal diseases (IRD) were studied. The parameter, integral, was defined as the volume-accumulated reflectivity values in a selected region on OCT images; integrals of the ellipsoid zone (EZ) and interdigitation zone (IZ) were measured at 2°, 3°, 4°, 5°and 6° eccentricity along the four meridians on fovea-centered OCT B-scans. Cone density in the same region was measured using a flood illumination adaptive optics camera RTX1.
RESULTS: Integrals of EZ, IZ and cone density shared similar distribution patterns. Integral of the IZ was better correlated with cone density in both healthy people (r = 0.968, p < 0.001) and those with IRD (r = 0.823, p < 0.001) than direct measurements of reflectivity on OCT images. A strong correlation was found between best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and cone density at 2° eccentricity (r = -0.857, p = 0.002). BCVA was also correlated with the integral of the IZ at the foveola (r = -0.746, p = 0.013) and fovea (r = -0.822, p = 0.004).
CONCLUSIONS: The new parameter "integral" of the photoreceptor outer segment measured from SD-OCT was noted to correlate with cone density and visual function in this pilot study.