Artikel
Imaging of AMD with FLIO
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Veröffentlicht: | 5. Februar 2020 |
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Gliederung
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Background: Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of blindness in the Western world for people above the age of 65. In this study we investigate changes in fluorescence lifetime imaging ophthalmology (FLIO) related to AMD.
Methods: 300 eyes from 150 patients with AMD and 50 age-matched healthy eyes were investigated at the Moran Eye Center in Salt Lake City, UT. AMD stages were classified according to the Beckman classification. Both neovascular as well as non-neovascular AMD eyes were included. Fundus autofluorescence was excited at 473 nm, and FLIO lifetimes were recorded in a short (SSC, 498-560 nm) and a long (LSC; 560-720 nm) spectral channel.
Results: All eyes with AMD showed a characteristic pattern of prolonged mean FLIO lifetimes in the LSC. This prolongation occurred in a ring-like area approximately 3 mm to 6 mm from the foveal center and was found in all patients with AMD, including those with both neovascular and non-neovascular forms. The pattern was also present in very early disease stages and in one-third of the healthy controls. FLIO lifetimes were longer with more advanced stages of AMD. Different forms of drusen as well as different forms of pigment epithelial detachments (PEDs) demonstrated heterogeneous FLIO lifetimes.
Discussion: FLIO detects a pattern of prolonged FLIO lifetimes in eyes with AMD. These changes are detectable in early disease stages. By showing different signals from different types of drusen or PEDs, FLIO may give additional information to pathophysiological processes involved in AMD. FLIO may also serve as a useful tool for the early diagnosis of AMD and may help to distinguish AMD from other retinal diseases.