Ocular blood flow in preterm neonates.

Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is a disorder affecting low birthweight, preterm neonates. In the preterm eye, the retina is not fully developed and neovascularization may occur at the margin between the developed vascular retina and undeveloped avascular retina. Without timely treatment by laser or intravitreal anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) therapy, this can lead to tractional retinal detachment and blindness.

Correlation of Ocular Plane-Wave Doppler With Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography in Preeclampsia.

Objectives: Preeclampsia (PE) is a severe complication of pregnancy characterized by hypertension, proteinuria and compromised fetal blood supply. The eye, like other end organs, is affected by this systemic condition, but unlike in other organs, ocular media transparency allows high-resolution optical visualization of the vascular structure of the retina. Our aim was to assess how ultrasound-determined ocular blood-flow correlates with vascular structure of the retina and choriocapillaris determined by optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA).

High-Frequency Ultrasound Activation of Perfluorocarbon Nanodroplets for Treatment of Glaucoma.

Elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) is the most prevalent risk factor for initiation and progression of neurodegeneration in glaucoma. Ocular hypertension results from increased resistance to aqueous fluid outflow caused by reduced porosity and increased stiffness of tissues of the outflow pathway. Acoustic activation and resulting bioeffects of the perfluorocarbon (PFC) nanodroplets (NDs) introduced into the anterior chamber (AC) of the eye could potentially represent a treatment for glaucoma by increasing permeability in the aqueous outflow track.

Ocular Blood Flow in Preterm Neonates: A Preliminary Report.

Purpose: Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is a vision-threatening complication occurring in pre-term neonates. The standard of care entails regular monitoring by dilated ophthalmoscopy examinations, which entail stress and potential morbidity. In this pilot study, we used plane-wave ultrasound (PWUS) to image, measure, and assess the association of blood-flow velocities in the retrobulbar vessels with ROP stages ranging from stage 0 (immature vessels without ROP) to stage 3.

Retrobulbar blood flow in rat eyes during acute elevation of intraocular pressure.

Most studies of the effect of acute elevation of intraocular pressure (IOP) on ocular blood-flow have utilized optical coherence tomography (OCT) to characterize retinal and choroidal flow and vascular density. This study investigates the effect of acute IOP elevation on blood flow velocity in the retrobulbar arteries and veins supplying and draining the eye, which, unlike the retinal and choroidal vasculature, are not directly compressed as IOP is increased. By cannulation of the anterior chamber of 20 Sprague-Dawley rats, we increased IOP in 10 mmHg steps from 10 to 60 mmHg and returned to 10 mmHg.

Plane-Wave Ultrasound Doppler of the Eye in Preeclampsia.

Purpose: Pre-eclampsia (PE) is a serious complication of pregnancy characterized by high blood pressure, proteinuria, compromised fetal blood supply, and potential organ damage. The superficial location of the eye makes it an ideal target for characterization hemodynamics. Our aim was to discern the impact of PE on ocular blood flow.

Compound Coherent Plane-Wave Ultrasound Imaging of Vascular Malformations of the Orbit.

Purpose: Prior color-flow Doppler ultrasound studies of the eye have been performed with systems that exceed US Food and Drug Administration permissible ophthalmic ultrasonic energy limits. The authors report a study of orbital vascular malformations using a novel, Food and Drug Administration compliant, ultrafast compound coherent plane-wave ultrasound device to produce power Doppler images.

Methods: Using a Verasonics Vantage 128 ultrasound engine and a user-developed MATLAB program with a 5-MHz linear-array probe, compound coherent plane-wave ultrasound data were collected on patients with orbital vascular malformations.

Contrast-enhanced plane-wave ultrasound imaging of the rat eye.

Preclinical imaging, especially of rodent models, plays a major role in experimental ophthalmology. Our aim was to determine if ultrasound can be used to visualize and measure flow dynamics in the retrobulbar vessels supplying and draining the eye and the potential of contrast microbubbles to provide image and measurement enhancement. To accomplish this, we used a 128-element, 18 MHz linear array ultrasound probe and performed plane-wave imaging of the eyes of Sprague Dawley rats.

Ultrasound Imaging and Measurement of Choroidal Blood Flow.

Purpose: The choroid is a vascular network providing the bulk of the oxygen and nutrient supply to the retina and may play a pivotal role in retinal disease pathogenesis. While optical coherence tomography angiography provides an en face depiction of the choroidal vasculature, it does not reveal flow dynamics. In this report, we describe the use of plane-wave ultrasound to image and characterize choroidal blood flow.

Improved High-Frequency Ultrasound Corneal Biometric Accuracy by Micrometer-Resolution Acoustic-Property Maps of the Cornea.

Purpose: Mapping of epithelial thickness (ET) is useful for detection of keratoconus, a disease characterized by corneal thinning and bulging in which epithelial thinning occurs over the apex. In prior clinical studies, optical coherence tomography (OCT) measurements of ET were systematically thinner than those obtained by 40-MHz high-frequency ultrasound (HFU) where a constant speed of sound () of 1636 m/s was used for all corneal layers. The purpose of this work was to study the acoustic properties, that is, , acoustic impedance (), and attenuation () of the corneal epithelium and stroma independently using a scanning acoustic microscope (SAM) to investigate the discrepancy between OCT and HFU estimates of ET.

In vivo imaging of ocular blood flow using high-speed ultrasound.

Clinical ophthalmic ultrasound is currently performed with mechanically scanned, single-element probes, but these are unable to provide useful information about blood flow with Doppler techniques. Linear arrays are well-suited for the detection of blood flow, but commercial systems generally exceed FDA ophthalmic safety limits. A high-speed plane-wave ultrasound approach with an 18-MHz linear array was utilized to characterize blood flow in the orbit and choroid.

Combined tomography and epithelial thickness mapping for diagnosis of keratoconus.

Purpose: Scanning Scheimpflug provides information regarding corneal thickness and 2-surface topography while arc-scanned high-frequency ultrasound allows depiction of the epithelial and stromal thickness distributions. Both techniques are useful in detection of keratoconus. Our aim was to develop and test a keratoconus classifier combining information from both methods.

Ultrafast Ultrasound Imaging of Ocular Anatomy and Blood Flow.

Purpose: Ophthalmic ultrasound imaging is currently performed with mechanically scanned single-element probes. These probes have limited capabilities overall and lack the ability to image blood flow. Linear-array systems are able to detect blood flow, but these systems exceed ophthalmic acoustic intensity safety guidelines.

Comparison of very-high-frequency ultrasound and spectral-domain optical coherence tomography corneal and epithelial thickness maps.

Purpose: To compare corneal thickness and epithelial thickness measurements in maps obtained using the RTVue spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) system and the Artemis 2 immersion arc-scanning very-high-frequency ultrasound (VHF-US) system.

Setting: Department of Ophthalmology, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, New York, USA.

Design: Comparative study.

Detection of Keratoconus in Clinically and Algorithmically Topographically Normal Fellow Eyes Using Epithelial Thickness Analysis.

Purpose: To assess the effectiveness of a keratoconus-detection algorithm derived from Artemis very high-frequency (VHF) digital ultrasound (ArcScan Inc., Morrison, CO) epithelial thickness maps in the fellow eye from a series of patients with unilateral keratoconus.

Methods: The study included 10 patients with moderate to advanced keratoconus in one eye but a clinically and algorithmically topographically normal fellow eye.

Acoustic radiation force for noninvasive evaluation of corneal biomechanical changes induced by cross-linking therapy.

Objectives: To noninvasively measure changes in corneal biomechanical properties induced by ultraviolet-activated riboflavin cross-linking therapy using acoustic radiation force (ARF).

Methods: Cross-linking was performed on the right eyes of 6 rabbits, with the left eyes serving as controls. Acoustic radiation force was used to assess corneal stiffness before treatment and weekly for 4 weeks after treatment.

Epithelial remodeling as basis for machine-based identification of keratoconus.

Purpose: To develop and evaluate automated computerized algorithms for differentiation of normal and keratoconus corneas based solely on epithelial and stromal thickness data.

Methods: Maps of the corneal epithelial and stromal thickness were generated from Artemis-1 very high-frequency ultrasound arc-scans of 130 normal and 74 keratoconic subjects diagnosed by combined topography and tomography examination. Keratoconus severity was graded based on anterior curvature, minimum corneal thickness, and refractive error.

Effect of ultrasound radiation force on the choroid.

Purpose: While visualization of the retina and choroid has made great progress, functional imaging techniques have been lacking. Our aim was to utilize acoustic radiation force impulse (ARFI) response to probe functional properties of these tissues.

Methods: A single element 18-MHz ultrasound transducer was focused upon the retina of the rabbit eye.

Comparison of artemis 2 ultrasound and Visante optical coherence tomography corneal thickness profiles.

Purpose: To compare corneal thickness profiles of cross-sections of cornea determined by arc-scanned immersion ultrasound and optical coherence tomography (OCT).

Methods: Corneas of 28 eyes from 14 participants were scanned in triplicate using the Artemis 2 high-frequency arc-scanned ultrasound system (ArcScan Inc) and the Visante OCT system (Carl Zeiss Meditec). Corneal thickness and reproducibility were compared within 3.

Age-dependent Fourier model of the shape of the isolated ex vivo human crystalline lens.

Purpose: To develop an age-dependent mathematical model of the zero-order shape of the isolated ex vivo human crystalline lens, using one mathematical function, that can be subsequently used to facilitate the development of other models for specific purposes such as optical modeling and analytical and numerical modeling of the lens.

Methods: Profiles of whole isolated human lenses (n=30) aged 20-69, were measured from shadow-photogrammetric images. The profiles were fit to a 10th-order Fourier series consisting of cosine functions in polar-co-ordinate system that included terms for tilt and decentration.

Visual rating system for assessing magnetic resonance images: a tool in the diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer disease.

Objective: Subjects with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and mild Alzheimer disease (AD) can be distinguished from elderly subjects with no cognitive impairment (NCI) by the degree of atrophy in the entorhinal cortex (ERC) and the hippocampus (HPC), quantified by volumetric magnetic resonance image (MRI) studies. Because volumetric MRI requires rigorous standards for image acquisition and analysis and is not suitable for routine clinical use, we have used calibrated visual rating to measure atrophy in the ERC, HPC, and perirhinal cortex (PRC) and evaluated its utility in the diagnosis of very early AD.

Methods: Thus far, visual rating methods, which have been found to be reliable and sensitive only for measurement of atrophy of the HPC or for the entire medial temporal region, have been found to be relatively insensitive for discriminating mild AD from elderly NCI subjects.

Shape of the isolated ex-vivo human crystalline lens.

Purpose: To develop an age-dependent mathematical model of the isolated ex-vivo human crystalline lens shape to serve as basis for use in computational modeling.

Methods: Profiles of whole isolated human lenses (n=27) aged 6 to 82, were measured from shadow-photogrammetric images. Two methods were used to analyze the lenses.