| Popis: |
Glaucoma is a neurodegenerative optic neuropathy characterized by loss of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) and RGCs axons, resulting in atrophy of the optic nerve. Optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) is the most recent modality in ophthalmic imaging field for diagnosis of different ophthalmic disorders, providing a high-resolution view of the vascular structures in the retina and optic nerve head. OCTA provides three-dimensional (3D) vascular information with the detection of motion contrast from the blood flow and an advanced approach to visualize retinal vasculature without the need of any dye injections that are non-invasive, fast and reproducible. In contrast to fluorescein angiography (FA) and indocyanine green angiography (ICGA), OCTA is a fast, safe, non-invasive and cost-effective diagnostic method. Another substantial superiority of the OCTA over FA and ICGA methods is that it provides high-resolution, depth-resolved blood flow data and segments the vascular layers in slabs of varying thickness in a few seconds. In addition, OCTA is a reliable and objective imaging technique with high reproducibility compared to the visual field (VF) testing. OCTA is also faster than VF testing and is less dependent on patient collaboration. Given the current population growth trends and hence the increase in glaucoma prevalence, the analysis of FA and ICGA images or VA testing is more likely to be time-consuming, costly, and prone to adverse effects. Therefore, these challenges can only be solved with the help of potentially promising diagnostic analyzes. |
