Optical coherence tomography (OCT) of the retina and corneal confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) of the subbasal nerve plexus (SBP) are noninvasive techniques for quantification of the ocular neurodegenerative changes in individuals with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM). In adult T1DM patients these changes are hardly related to T1DM only. Instead, ageing and/or lifestyle associated comorbidities have to be considered as putative confounding variables. Therefore, we investigated pediatric T1DM patients (n = 28; 14.2 ± 2.51 y; duration of disease: 5.39 ± 4.16 y) without clinical signs of diabetic retina disease, neuropathy, vasculopathy or nephropathy and compared our findings with those obtained in healthy controls (n = 46; 14.8 ± 1.89 y). The SBP was characterized by the averaged length, thickness, and tortuosity of nerve fibers as well as the number of branching and connecting points. OCT was used to determine the total thickness of the retina (ALL) and the thickness of each retinal layer. Both methods revealed signs of early neurodegenerative changes, e.g. thinning of distinct retinal layers at the pericentral ring and shortening of corneal nerve fibers that are already present in pediatric T1DM patients. Standardization of instruments and algorithms are urgently required to enable uniform comparison between different groups and define normative values to introduce in the clinical setting.

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Visualizing geo-spatial data embedded into a three-dimensional terrain is challenging. The problem becomes even more complex when uncertainty information needs to be presented as well. This paper addresses the question of how to visually communicate all three aspects: the 3D terrain, the geo-spatial data, and the data-associated uncertainty. We argue that visualizing all aspects with a high degree of detail will likely exceed the visual budget. Therefore, we propose a visualization strategy based on prioritizing a selected aspect and presenting the remaining two with less detail. We discuss various design options that allow us to obtain differently prioritized visual representations. Our approach has been implemented as a tool for rapid visualization prototyping in the context of avionics applications. Practical solutions are described for a use case related to the visualization of 3D terrain and uncertain weather data.

Optical coherence tomography enables high-resolution 3D imaging of retinal layers in the human eye. The thickness of the layers is commonly assessed to understand a variety of retinal and systemic disorders. Yet, the thickness data are complex and currently need to be considerably reduced prior to further processing and analysis. This leads to a loss of information on localized variations in thickness, which is important for early detection of certain retinal diseases. We propose an enhanced grid-based reduction and exploration of retinal thickness data. Alternative grids are computed, their representation quality is rated, and best fitting grids for given thickness data are suggested. Selected grids are then visualized, adapted, and compared at different levels of granularity. A visual analysis tool bundles all computational, visual, and interactive means in a flexible user interface. We demonstrate the utility of our tool in a complementary analysis procedure, which eases the evaluation of ophthalmic study data. Ophthalmologists successfully applied our solution to study localized variations in thickness of retinal layers in patients with diabetes mellitus.

Distinct changes within the parafoveal area of the total retina, GCL, and IPL are present in children with mild-to-moderate CKD. Prospective studies are required to assess the clinical significance of our findings.