Measurements of the parapapillary atrophy zones in en face optical coherence tomography images

• Published in: PLOS ONE Vol. 12; no. 4; p. e0175347
• Main Authors: Miki, Atsuya, Ikuno, Yasushi, Weinreb, Robert N., Yokoyama, Junko, Asai, Tomoko, Usui, Shinichi, Nishida, Kohji
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science (PLoS) 17.04.2017; Public Library of Science
• Subjects: Age; Aging; Analysis; Atrophy; Bioengineering; Biology and Life Sciences; Biomedical Imaging; Case-Control Studies; Classification; Clinical Research; Coherence (Optics); Correlation; Cross-Sectional Studies; Damage; Evaluation; Eye; Eye Disease and Disorders of Vision; Face; Female; General Science & Technology; Glaucoma; Glaucoma - pathology; Glaucoma, Open-Angle; Glaucoma, Open-Angle - pathology; Health aspects; Humans; Image reconstruction; Intraocular Pressure; Intraocular Pressure - physiology; Male; Medical imaging; Medicine; Medicine and Health Sciences; Middle Aged; Morphology; Multivariate analysis; Myopia; Myopia - pathology; Neurodegenerative; Neurosciences; Open-Angle; Optic Atrophy; Optic Atrophy - pathology; Optic Disk; Optic Disk - pathology; Optic nerve; Optical Coherence; Optical Coherence Tomography; Optical tomography; Optics; Population; Q; R; Research and Analysis Methods; Research Article; Retrospective Studies; Science; Standard deviation; Statistical analysis; Studies; Tomography; Tomography, Optical Coherence; University graduates; United States > US; California
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0175347

To measure the parapapillary atrophy (PPA) area in en face images obtained with swept-source optical coherence tomography (SS-OCT), and to evaluate its relationship to glaucoma, myopia, and age in non-highly myopic subjects. Retrospective, cross-sectional study. Fifty eyes of 30 subjects with open-angle glaucoma (G group) and forty-three eyes of 26 healthy control subjects (C group). Eyes with high myopia (spherical equivalent refractive error ≤ -8 diopters or axial length ≥ 26.5 mm) were excluded. Mean age ± standard deviation was 59.9 ± 12.4 years. The beta zone and the gamma zone PPA areas were measured in en face images reconstructed from three-dimensional SS-OCT images. Relationship between the PPA areas and patient characteristics such as glaucoma, axial length, and age was statistically evaluated using multivariate mixed-effects models. Areas of the beta zone and the gamma zone PPA measured on en face OCT images. Average ± standard deviation area of the beta and the gamma zone was 0.64 ± 0.79 and 0.16 ± 0.30 mm2, respectively. In multivariate models, the gamma zone significantly correlated with axial length (P = 0.001) but not with glaucoma (P = 0.944). In contrast, the beta zone significantly correlated with age (P = 0.0249) and glaucoma (P = 0.014). En face images reconstructed from 3D SS-OCT data facilitated measurements of the beta and the gamma PPA zones even in eyes with optic disc distortion. The OCT-defined beta zone is associated with glaucoma and age, whereas the gamma zone correlated with myopia but not with glaucoma. This study confirmed the clinical usefulness of OCT-based classification of the PPA zones in distinguishing glaucomatous damage of the optic nerve from myopic damage in non-highly myopic eyes.