Reproducibility of retinal circulation measurements obtained using laser speckle flowgraphy-NAVI in patients with glaucoma

Abstract

Background:Laser speckle flowgraphy (LSFG) enables noninvasive quantification of the retinal circulation in glaucoma patients. In this study, we tested the intrasession reproducibility of LSFG-NAVI, a modified LSFG technique.Methods:Sixty-five eyes from 33 subjects (male (M):female (F) = 17:16) with a mean age of 49.4 ± 11.2 years were examined in this study. Two parameters indicating reproducibility – the coefficient of variation (COV) and the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) – were analyzed three times on the same day that mean blur rate (MBR) was measured using LSFG-NAVI. The sites analyzed were the retinal artery and vein, the optic disk, and the choroid. Following classification according to the Glaucoma Hemifield Test (GHT; SITA-Standard 30-2 program), the COV and ICC were examined in patients with (GHT+; 38 eyes, M:F = 20:18, average age 48.9 ± 12.8 years) and without (GHT−; 27 eyes, M:F = 13:14, average age 50.1 ± 8.7 years) abnormal glaucomatous visual fields.Results:For all subjects, the intrasession reproducibility of MBR in the optic disk (COV: 3.4 ± 2.0; ICC: 0.95) and choroid (COV: 4.7 ± 3.4; ICC: 0.98) was excellent. The reproducibility for the retinal vein (COV: 8.4 ± 5.6, ICC: 0.90) and retinal artery (COV: 10.9 ± 9.9, ICC: 0.9) was moderate. MBRs in the optic disk had good reproducibility in both the GHT+ group (COV: 3.8 ± 2.0; ICC: 0.97) and the GHT− group (COV: 2.9 ± 2.1; ICC: 0.95). Local assessment of the optic disk in normal or glaucoma patients showed that the COVs of the quadrant optic disk areas were best in the temporal area of MBR (3.4%, 4.2%, respectively).Conclusion:LSFG-NAVI showed favorable reproducibility in evaluation of retinal circulation of glaucoma patients, particularly in the optic disk and choroid.

Optimization of camera exposure durations for multi-exposure speckle imaging of the microcirculation

“…Beyond bench-side physiological research, there are direct implications for prognostic, diagnostic, and intraoperative imaging applications, as speckle imaging of microcirculatory flows is increasingly becoming applied for gauging local and systemic tissue health [8,9]. Consequently, laser speckle flowmetry studies are expanding in dermatological [10][11][12][13][14], ophthalmological [15][16][17], and neurosurgical settings [18][19][20].…”

Pulse Waveform Changes in Macular Choroidal Hemodynamics With Regression of Acute Central Serous Chorioretinopathy

“…11 However, the mechanism underlying choroidal hyperpermeability remains incompletely understood. Laser speckle flowgraphy (LSFG) can noninvasively measure ocular circulation within 4 seconds, using the laser speckle phenomenon, [12][13][14] with the advantage of providing reproducible 15 data throughout the course of diseases. 13 The mean blur rate (MBR) is a quantitative index of relative blood flow velocity.…”

Clinical Usefulness of the Measurement of Optic Nerve Head Blood Flow in Myopic Normal-Tension Glaucoma

“…We used LSFG for assessment of ONH blood flow in the current study because its validity and reproducibility have been previously demonstrated [31,32] . In addition, our recent studies suggested that absolute MBR values for the ONH correlated with CBF, indicating the quantifiability of these values in the absence of large topographical and color differences in the ONH [31,33] .…”