Effect of OCT B-Scan Density on Sensitivity for Detection of Intraretinal Hyperreflective Foci in Eyes with Age-Related Macular Degeneration. (2nd September 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Oncel, Deniz; Manafi, Navid; Nittala, Muneeswar Gupta; Velaga, Swetha Bindu; Stambolian, Dwight; Pericak-Vance, Margaret A.; Haines, Jonathan L.; Sadda, Srinivas R.
• Is Part Of: Current eye research. Volume 47:Number 9(2022)
• Page Start: 1294
• Page End: 1299
• Publication Date: 2022-09-02
• Subjects: Intraretinal hyperreflective foci -- IHRF -- SD-OCT -- age-related macular degeneration -- AMD -- OCT -- retinal diseases; Ophthalmology -- Periodicals; Eye -- Diseases -- Periodicals; Ophthalmology -- Periodicals; 573.88
• DOI: 10.1080/02713683.2022.2081981
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0271-3683

Abstract

Abstract: Purpose: To evaluate the impact of reducing the density of B-scans in an optical coherence tomography (OCT) volume on the sensitivity for detecting intraretinal hyperreflective foci (IHRF) in eyes with intermediate age-related macular degeneration (AMD) Methods: A total of 165 eyes with intermediate AMD and IHRF were evaluated in this retrospective analysis. For each case, Cirrus HD-OCT volumes were imported into the reading center 3 D-OCTOR software. The number of IHRF cases was assessed based on all 128 B-scans (spaced 47 μm apart), using a categorical scale (graded as 1–4, 5–9, 10–14, 15–19, and >20). Additionally, the B-scan densities in the volume were lowered to 64 B-scans (spaced 94 μm apart), 43 B-scans (spaced 140 μm apart), and 32 B-scans (spaced 188 μm apart). The number of eyes with any IHRF and the numerical category of IHRF in the eye were used to compare the sensitivity at each reduced B-scan density against the reference 128 B-scan volume. Results: In the primary analysis for the qualitative presence or absence of any IHRF, the sensitivity decreased to 98.2% ( p = .32) with 64 B-scans, 92.7% ( p = .001) with 43 B-scans, and 75.2% ( p = .001) with 32 B-scans, compared with the 128 B-scan reference. With regard to the number of IHRF per eye, there was a significant difference (with a lower level chosen on the scale) when the B-scan density was reduced to 43 or 32 B-scans ( p = .002 and p < .001, respectively). Conclusion: Increasing the inter-B-scan spacing from 47 to 188 microns significantly reduced the ability to accurately determine whether IHRF were present in an eye. An increase in inter-B-scan spacing to 140 microns was associated with a significant misclassification of the IHRF quantity. These findings may be relevant in the design of OCT scanning protocols for studies utilizing these biomarkers for AMD progression.