{Reference Type}: Journal Article
{Title}: Detection of capillary abnormalities in early diabetic retinopathy using scanning laser ophthalmoscopy and optical coherence tomography combined with adaptive optics.
{Author}: Torm MEW;Pircher M;Bonnin S;Johannesen J;Klefter ON;Schmidt MF;Frederiksen JL;Lefaudeux N;Andilla J;Valdes C;Loza-Alvarez P;Brea LS;De Jesus DA;Grieve K;Paques M;Larsen M;Gocho K;
{Journal}: Sci Rep
{Volume}: 14
{Issue}: 1
{Year}: 2024 06 11
{Factor}: 4.996
{DOI}: 10.1038/s41598-024-63749-7
{Abstract}: This study tested if a high-resolution, multi-modal, multi-scale retinal imaging instrument can provide novel information about structural abnormalities in vivo. The study examined 11 patients with very mild to moderate non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR) and 10 healthy subjects using fundus photography, optical coherence tomography (OCT), OCT angiography (OCTA), adaptive optics scanning laser ophthalmoscopy (AO-SLO), adaptive optics OCT and OCTA (AO-OCT(A)). Of 21 eyes of 11 patients, 11 had very mild NPDR, 8 had mild NPDR, 2 had moderate NPDR, and 1 had no retinopathy. Using AO-SLO, capillary looping, inflections and dilations were detected in 8 patients with very mild or mild NPDR, and microaneurysms containing hyperreflective granular elements were visible in 9 patients with mild or moderate NPDR. Most of the abnormalities were seen to be perfused in the corresponding OCTA scans while a few capillary loops appeared to be occluded or perfused at a non-detectable flow rate, possibly because of hypoperfusion. In one patient with moderate NPDR, non-perfused capillaries, also called ghost vessels, were identified by alignment of corresponding en face AO-OCT and AO-OCTA images. The combination of multiple non-invasive imaging methods could identify prominent microscopic abnormalities in diabetic retinopathy earlier and more detailed than conventional fundus imaging devices.