The Validity of Retinal Blood Flow Measurements During Hyperoxia in Humans Using Fourier Domain Color Doppler Optical Coherence Tomography (CDOCT)

Noninvasive monitoring of blood flow in retinal circulation may elucidate the progression and treatment of ocular disorders, including diabetic retinopathy, age-related macular degeneration and glaucoma. Laser Doppler velocimetry (LDV), a noninvasive optical method combined with vessel size determination has been used extensively as a valuable research tool to examine blood flow dynamics in the human retina. However, no information on the velocity profile within the vessel is available. Ophthalmic color Doppler optical coherence tomography (CDOCT) provides laser Doppler information in addition to conventional optical coherence tomography, allowing the observation of blood flow dynamics simultaneously to imaging retinal structure. We have recently demonstrated the feasibility of Fourier domain CDOCT to assess velocity profiles in human retinal vessels in vivo. In the present study the validity of Fourier domain CDOCT for retinal blood flow measurements will be tested at baseline and during hyperoxia-induced vasoconstriction in humans by comparison with retinal blood flow measurements using a commercially available LDV system and the Zeiss retinal vessel analyzer (RVA)