研究目的
Identifying potential biomarkers for disease progression in retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is highly relevant now that gene therapy and other treatments are in clinical trial.
研究成果
Both a hypofluorescent ring and retinal pigment epithelium atrophy were present on a significant proportion of RP patients and were consistently mapped over a 12-month period. There is potential extrapolation of this methodology to wide-field imaging as well as other retinal dystrophies. This anatomical change may provide a useful anatomical biomarker for assessing treatment end points in RP.
研究不足
There could theoretically be substantial bias if the detector gain were altered, although the impact would be greater on absolute luminance values than a percentile grading system. Mapping of the AF ring is facilitated by a clearly delineated change in AF, which is not present in all cases of RP. Furthermore, as the ring approaches the fovea in more advanced disease, it becomes less defined, which could complicate its capture.
1:Experimental Design and Method Selection:
A novel technique for analysis of short-wavelength autofluorescence (AF) imaging to quantify defined regions of AF in RP patients.
2:Sample Selection and Data Sources:
Fifty-five–degree AF images were acquired from 12 participants with RP over a 12-month period.
3:List of Experimental Equipment and Materials:
Confocal scanning laser ophthalmoscope (Heidelberg Spectralis; Heidelberg-Engineering, Heidelberg, Germany), GIS Extract Transform Load software (FME, Safe Software Inc., Surrey, BC, Canada).
4:Experimental Procedures and Operational Workflow:
A standard Cartesian coordinate system was superimposed on images with the fovea as the origin and eight bisecting lines traversing the center at 45 degrees to each other. Spatial extraction software was programmed to highlight pixels corresponding to varying degrees of percentile fluorescence such that the parafoveal AF ring was mapped.
5:Data Analysis Methods:
Distance between the fovea and midpoint of the AF ring was measured. Percentage of low luminance areas was utilized as a measure of atrophy.
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