Purpose: We applied deep learning-based noise reduction (NR) to optical coherence tomography-angiography (OCTA) images of the radial peripapillary capillaries (RPCs) in eyes with glaucoma and investigated the usefulness of this method as an objective analysis of glaucoma.
Methods: This cross-sectional study included 118 eyes of 94 open-angle glaucoma patients (male/female = 38/56, age: 56.1 ± 10.3 years). We used OCTA (OCT-HS100, Canon) and built-in software (RX software, v. 4.5) to perform NR and calculate RPC vessel area density (VAD) and skeleton vessel length density (VLD). We also examined NR's effect on reproducibility. Finally, we assessed the vascular structure (PRCs)/function relationship at different glaucoma stages with Spearman's correlation.
Results: Regardless of NR, RPC parameters had excellent coefficients of variation (1.7-4.1%) in glaucoma patients and controls, and mean deviation (MD) was significantly correlated with VAD (NR: r = 0.835, p < 0.001; non-NR: r = 0.871, p < 0.001) and VLD (NR: r = 0.829, p < 0.001; non-NR: r = 0.837, p < 0.001). For mild, moderate, and advanced glaucoma, the correlation coefficients between MD and VLD were 0.366 (p = 0.028) 0.081 (p = 0.689), and 0.427 (p = 0.017) with NR and 0.405 (p = 0.014), 0.184 (p = 0.360), and 0.339 (p = 0.062) without NR, respectively.
Conclusion: Denoised RPC images might have the potential for a closer structural/functional relationship, in which the floor effect of retinal nerve fiber layer thickness affects measurements. Deep learning-based NR promises to improve glaucoma assessment.
Keywords: Optical coherence tomography angiography; assessment of advanced glaucoma; deep learning; diagnosis; radial peripapillary capillary density.