Purpose: To develop a mathematical model of local blood flow in the choriocapillaris using an Ising model.
Methods: A JavaScript Ising model was used to create images that emulated the development of signal voids as would be seen in optical coherence tomography angiography of the choriocapillaris. The model was produced by holding the temperature near criticality and varying the field strength. Individual frames were evaluated, and a movie video was created to show the hypothetical development of flow-related signal voids over a lifetime.
Results: Much the same as actual choriocapillaris images in humans, the model of flow-related signal voids followed a power-law distribution. The slope and intercept both decreased with age, as is seen in human subjects.
Conclusion: This model is a working hypothesis, and as such can help predict system characteristics, evaluate conclusions drawn from studies, suggest new research questions, and provide a way of obtaining an estimate of behavior in which experimental data are not yet available. It may be possible to understand choriocapillaris blood flow in health and disease states by determining by observing deviations from an expected model.