Abstract
Optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA), as a nascent fundus vascular angiography technique, can identify the blood flow movement information of the retina and choroid with high resolution, and imaging the microvascular circulation of the retina and choroid in living tissues. Compared to previous art dye-based imaging such as fluorescein angiography and indocyanine green angiography, it has the characteristics of fast, non-invasive, high resolution and three-dimensional imaging, as well as the ability to display retinal vascular structure and blood flow information simultaneously. OCTA is a nascent technology with a potential wide applicability for retinal vascular disease. As a part of systemic blood circulation, ocular blood flow has been affected by a variety of factors. Vascular factors play an important role in eye diseases including retinal vein occlusion, diabetic retinopathy and glaucoma, and other diseases. OCTA has special advantages in retinal choroidal vascular changes, disease management follow-up and treatment effect detection. However, OCTA suffers from disadvantages of a relatively small field of view, inability to show leakage, and proclivity for image artifact due to patient movement or blinking. This article will review the recent research of OCTA in diabetic retinopathy, retinal vein occlusion, primary glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration and high myopia fundus to understand its applicability in the research and clinical practice of retinal diseases.
Highlights
Optical coherence tomography (OCT) was one of the biggest advances in ophthalmic imaging, which can finely visualize the interlayer structure of the retina
Wang et al [93] found that the blood flow density around the optic disc decreased in high myopia, which was negatively correlated with the axial length, and the retinal blood perfusion around the papilla was positively correlated with the thickness of the optic nerve fiber layer
Because retinal microvessels have the same characteristics as cerebral blood vessels, researchers are studying the retina microvascular damage to further understand the microvascular damage in central nervous system degenerative diseases
Summary
Optical coherence tomography (OCT) was one of the biggest advances in ophthalmic imaging, which can finely visualize the interlayer structure of the retina. As a new type of fundus vascular examination technology, OCTA provides the possibility of imaging the superficial capillary plexus as well as the middle and deep capillary plexus. OCTA can detect changes in choroidal blood vessel flow and can elucidate the presence of choroidal neovascularization (CNV) in a variety of conditions. It provides a highly detailed view of the retinal vasculature, which allows for accurate delineation of the foveal avascular zone (FAZ) in diabetic eyes and detection of subtle microvascular abnormalities in diabetic and vascular occlusive eyes. OCTA can provide deep-resolved retinal and choroidal blood flow images with a level of detail far exceeding FFA. This paper will elaborate and summarize the clinical application of OCTA in ophthalmology
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