Discrimination Between Healthy Eyes and Those With Mild Glaucoma Damage Using Hemoglobin Measurements of the Optic Nerve Head

Précis: The Laguna ONhE, a software that measures the hemoglobin (Hb) concentration of the optic nerve head (ONH) from fundus photographs, demonstrated good accuracy in discriminating healthy eyes from eyes with mild glaucoma. Purpose: The aim was to evaluate Hb concentration of the optic nerve to distinguish between healthy eyes and eyes with mild glaucoma. Methods: Eyes from patients with mild primary open angle glaucoma (MD> −6 dB) (n=58) and from healthy subjects (n=64) were selected. Retinal nerve fiber layer thickness measurements of all eyes were acquired with optical coherence tomography. Optic disc photographs were also obtained, and the images were analyzed using the Laguna ONhE software, which measures the amount of Hb in 24 sectors of the ONH. The software also calculates the Glaucoma Discriminant Function (GDF), an index that expresses the chance of the ONH being compatible with glaucoma. Areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve and sensitivities at fixed specificities of 90% and 95% of each Laguna ONhE parameter were calculated. Results: The mean retinal nerve fiber layer thickness and vertical cup/disc ratio of the control and glaucoma groups were 90.0±10.6 μm versus 66.28±9.85 μm (P
Source: Journal of Glaucoma - Category: Opthalmology Tags: New Glaucoma Insights: Original Studies Source Type: research