Introduction to dynamic retinal vessel analyses

Abstract

Retinal vessels possess the same structure and function as cerebral vessels and reflect the status of the central microcirculation. In the pre‐, post‐ and capillary areas, the behaviour of retinal vessels does influence blood flow and flow‐related metabolism through changes in arterial and venous diameter. In dynamic retinal vessel analysis, the function and structure of retinal vessels are subjected to a non‐invasive functional and structural examination over a period before, during and after a specific vascular stimulation. The use of several methodological modalities together with their relevant quantitative biomarkers represents a promising approach for the evaluation of ocular and systemic diseases of vascular origin as well as cerebro‐ or cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Dynamic retinal vessel analysis has been employed in cross‐sectional and interventional clinical studies in ophthalmology and interdisciplinary in other branches of the medicine including cardiology, neurology, neurosurgery, nephrology, diabetology, hypertensiology, gynaecology and others. The paper aims to give a brief overview in the technology and the methodology of dynamic retinal vessel analysis.