UNASSIGNED: No established biomarkers currently exist for therapeutic efficacy and durability of anti-VEGF therapy in neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD). This study evaluated radiomic-based quantitative OCT biomarkers that may be predictive of anti-VEGF treatment response and durability.
UNASSIGNED: Assessment of baseline biomarkers using machine learning (ML) classifiers to predict tolerance to anti-VEGF therapy.
UNASSIGNED: Eighty-one participants with treatment-naïve nAMD from the OSPREY study, including 15 super responders (patients who achieved and maintained retinal fluid resolution) and 66 non-super responders (patients who did not achieve or maintain retinal fluid resolution).
UNASSIGNED: A total of 962 texture-based radiomic features were extracted from fluid, subretinal hyperreflective material (SHRM), and different retinal tissue compartments of OCT scans. The top 8 features, chosen by the minimum redundancy maximum relevance feature selection method, were evaluated using 4 ML classifiers in a cross-validated approach to distinguish between the 2 patient groups. Longitudinal assessment of changes in different texture-based radiomic descriptors (delta-texture features) between baseline and month 3 also was performed to evaluate their association with treatment response. Additionally, 8 baseline clinical parameters and a combination of baseline OCT, delta-texture features, and the clinical parameters were evaluated in a cross-validated approach in terms of association with therapeutic response.
UNASSIGNED: The cross-validated area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity were calculated to validate the classifier performance.
UNASSIGNED: The cross-validated AUC by the quadratic discriminant analysis classifier was 0.75 ± 0.09 using texture-based baseline OCT features. The delta-texture features within different OCT compartments between baseline and month 3 yielded an AUC of 0.78 ± 0.08. The baseline clinical parameters sub-retinal pigment epithelium volume and intraretinal fluid volume yielded an AUC of 0.62 ± 0.07. When all the baseline, delta, and clinical features were combined, a statistically significant improvement in the classifier performance (AUC, 0.81 ± 0.07) was obtained.
UNASSIGNED: Radiomic-based quantitative assessment of OCT images was shown to distinguish between super responders and non-super responders to anti-VEGF therapy in nAMD. The baseline fluid and SHRM delta-texture features were found to be most discriminating across groups.

UNASSIGNED: Rhegmatogenous retinal detachment repair by intraoperative sealing of the tear without a tamponade agent should enable faster restoration of vision and resumption of normal activities. It avoids the need for further surgery in the case of silicone oil endotamponade. This study evaluated the retinal thermofusion (RTF) retinopexy method of subretinal space dehydration before photocoagulation to create an instantaneous intraoperative retina reattachment in a preclinical model.
UNASSIGNED: Preclinical study.
UNASSIGNED: Twenty Dutch Belt, pigmented rabbits that underwent RTF repair after experimental retinal detachment.
UNASSIGNED: This ex vivo model quantified adhesion force between the retina and underlying retinal pigment epithelium and choroid after treatment of 1 retinal edge using postmortem porcine or human retina (6 × 12 mm). We compared (1) control, (2) laser photocoagulation alone, (3) dehydration alone, and (4) dehydration followed by photocoagulation (RTF). Optimized parameters for RTF were then applied in the in vivo rabbit model of retinal detachment. Animals were followed up for 14 days.
UNASSIGNED: For this ex vivo model, we measured adhesion force and related this to tissue temperature. For the in vivo study, we assessed retinal attachment using funduscopy and histologic analysis.
UNASSIGNED: The ex vivo model showed that RTF repair produced significantly higher adhesion force than photocoagulation alone independent of dehydration method: warm (60° C) high airflow (50-70 ml/minute) or using laser wavelengths targeting water absorption peaks (1470 or 1940 nm) with coaxial low airflow (10-20 ml/minute). The latter approach produced a smaller footprint of dehydration. Application of RTF (1940-nm laser with coaxial airflow) in an in vivo retinal detachment model in rabbit eyes resulted in immediate retinal adhesion, achieving forces similar to those in the ex vivo experiments. Retinal thermofusion repair resulted in stable reattachment of the retina over the 2-week follow-up period.
UNASSIGNED: We showed that a short preliminary dehydrating laser treatment of a retinal tear margin before traditional laser photocoagulation creates an immediate intraoperative waterproof retinopexy adhesion independent of tamponade and a wound-healing response. This approach potentially will allow rapid postoperative recovery regardless of the tear location and improved vision.

UNASSIGNED: To examine the interrater and intrarater reliability of qualitatively and quantitatively assessed disorganization of retinal inner layers (DRIL) and disorganization of retinal outer layers (DROL) by multiple raters. Subjectively assessing these surrogate biomarkers can be challenging in daily routine, despite the high resolution of spectral-domain (SD) OCT scans.
UNASSIGNED: Retrospective trial.
UNASSIGNED: Three hundred six pooled SD OCT scans of 34 patients treated for macular edema caused by retinal vein occlusion (RVO) between January 2016 and December 2017.
UNASSIGNED: SD OCT scans were assessed by 6 raters regarding presence of cystoid macular edema, subretinal fluid (SRF), vitreoretinal traction, and epiretinal membrane and extent of DRIL and DROL.
UNASSIGNED: Interrater and intrarater reliability were calculated applying κ statistics for qualitative assessment regarding each pathologic feature\'s presence in all evaluated OCT scans, and for quantified horizontal DRIL and DROL extent within each OCT cross-section.
UNASSIGNED: Cystoid macular edema and SRF assessments revealed excellent inter- and intrarater reliability with almost perfect strength of agreement, whereas subjective DRIL and DROL evaluations yielded low κ statistics with slight to moderate strength of agreement. Furthermore, the presence of SRF remarkably compromised the reliability of DROL detection.
UNASSIGNED: Our data highlight the limited subjective assessibility of DRIL and DROL, underscoring the need for automated image analysis to improve the reliability of OCT biomarkers for clinical studies and daily practice.

UNASSIGNED: To evaluate longitudinally the performance of the Notal Vision Home OCT (NVHO), comprising a spectral-domain OCT device for patient self-imaging at home, telemedicine infrastructure for automated data upload, and deep learning algorithm for automated OCT evaluation. The aims were to study the system\'s performance in daily image acquisition and automated analysis and to characterize the dynamics of retinal fluid exudation in neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD).
UNASSIGNED: Pilot prospective, observational longitudinal study.
UNASSIGNED: Four individuals (mean age, 73.8 years) with nAMD (one or both eyes) undergoing anti-vascular endothelial growth factor therapy in routine clinical practice.
UNASSIGNED: The participants performed daily self-imaging at home with the NVHO for 1 month. The macular cube scans were uploaded automatically to the Notal Health Cloud. They underwent evaluation separately by the Notal OCT Analyzer (NOA) and human expert graders for fluid presence, segmentation, and volume.
UNASSIGNED: Daily self-imaging completion, image quality, acquisition time, agreement between automated and human grading of retinal fluid, and temporal dynamics of fluid volume.
UNASSIGNED: Of 240 self-imaging attempts initiated, the number successfully completed was 211 (87.9%). Of these, 97.6% had satisfactory quality. For fluid presence, the NOA agreed with human grading in 94.7% of cases. From a subset of 24 scans with fluid, for agreement between NOA and human fluid volume measurements, the correlation coefficient was 0.996 and mean absolute difference was 1.5 nl (vs. 0.995 and 1.2 nl, respectively, for interhuman agreement). Graphic plots of fluid volume revealed wide variation in the dynamics of fluid exudation and treatment response.
UNASSIGNED: The participants could perform daily self-imaging at home and generate macular cube scans of satisfactory quality. Automated quantitative OCT analysis achieved high agreement with human grading. Daily self-imaging with automated OCT analysis permitted detailed characterization of the dynamics of fluid exudation and revealed wide variation between eyes. Metrics describing these dynamics may become important disease biomarkers. Home OCT telemedicine systems represent an alternative paradigm of disease monitoring; they may allow highly personalized retreatment decisions, with fewer unnecessary injections and clinic visits.