Ocular blood flow study using color doppler imaging: Normative value and its relevance in glaucoma

Abstract

Aim: The aim was to study the normative pattern of ocular blood flow (OBF) using color Doppler imaging. Materials and Methods: It was a prospective study including healthy volunteers without any ocular pathology. Results: We analyzed ocular blood flow for 25 eyes of consecutive normal patients. Our study had 14 males and 11 females. The standard deviation of the resistive index of Ophthalmic artery, Central retinal artery and short posterior ciliary artery were 0.07, 0.08 and 0.12 respectively. Discussion: Ischemia to the optic nerve and dysfunctional vascular regulation are likely responsible for glaucomatous damage. Ocular hemodynamics, though complex, can be assessed to an extent by many ways. The quantification of blood flow in these vessels can give great lengths of information with regard to the pathological processes behind retinal and optic nerve head diseases such as glaucoma. Lower ocular perfusion pressure, vascular dysregulation, and lower OBF can worsen glaucoma. Conclusion: To our knowledge, there are no South Indian studies showing the normative data.