Association of Ellipsoid Zone Integrity Features with Visual Acuity in Dry Age-Related Macular Degeneration.

摘要: Purpose: Ellipsoid zone (EZ) integrity has been associated with visual function in multiple retinal conditions. This study aims to evaluate the association between EZ integrity features as measured on SD-OCT with visual acuity (VA) in dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD).Methods: This IRB-approved retrospective image analysis study evaluated eyes with dry AMD to provide quantitative assessment of EZ integrity features and VA analysis. SD-OCT was performed (Spectralis, Heideiberg; or Cirrus, Zeiss) and exported for analysis. For EZ integrity assessment, a machine learning (ML)-enhanced segmentation platform was utilized to provide panmacular segmentation of the EZ and retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) bands. Following initial automated segmentation, a certified reader reviewed every B-scan for segmentation accuracy and corrected any segmentation errors. Measures of EZ integrity included partial and total EZ attenuation burden, indicated by the percentage of the macular cube with EZ-RPE thickness≤ 20 μm and EZ-RPE= 0 μm, respectively, and EZ-RPE central subfield thickness (CST), ie central 1 mm. These measurements were compared in eyes with excellent VA (≥ 20/25 Snellen) and eyes with limited VA (≤ 20/40 Snellen). In addition, an analysis was performed based on evaluating the mean VA in eyes with total loss of EZ in the CST (ie,= 0 μm), partial loss (ie,> 0 and≤ 20 μm) and EZ preservation (ie,> 20 μm).Results: This analysis included 395 eyes of 395 patients. In the first assessment, subjects with excellent VA showed lower baseline partial and total EZ attenuation (n= 368, mean= 4.51% and 1.37%, respectively …