Correlations Between Different Choriocapillaris Flow Deficit Parameters in Normal Eyes Using Swept Source OCT Angiography

Abstract

Choriocapillaris (CC) imaging of normal eyes with swept-source optical coherence tomographic angiography (SS-OCTA) was performed, and the percentage of CC flow deficits (FD%) and the average area of CC flow deficits (FDa) were compared within the given macular regions. A prospective, cross-sectional study. Subjects with normal eyes ranging in age from their 20s through their 80s were imaged with SS-OCTA (PLEX Elite 9000; Carl Zeiss Meditec, Dublin, California, USA) using both 3×3-mm and 6×6-mm macular scan patterns. The CC images were generated using a previously published and validated algorithm. In both 3×3-mm and 6×6-mm scans, the CC FD% and FDa were measured in circular regions centered on the fovea with diameters as 1mm and 2.5mm (C1 and C2.5). In 6×6-mm scans, the FD% and FDa were measured within an additional circular region with diameter as 5mm (C5). The correlations between FD% and FDa from each region were analyzed with Pearson correlation coefficients. A total of 164 eyes were analyzed. There was excellent correlation between CC FDa and FD% measurements from each region. In the 3×3-mm scans, the correlations in the C1 and C2.5 regions were 0.83 and 0.90, respectively. In the 6×6-mm scans, the correlations in C1, C2.5, and C5 regions were 0.90, 0.89, and 0.89, respectively. When measuring CC FDs, we found excellent correlations between FDa and FD% in regions from 3×3-mm and 6×6-mm scans. Further studies are needed to determine if one parameter is more useful when studying diseased eyes.