NONINVASIVE EVALUATION OF DIABETIC RETINAL NEOVASCULARIZATION USING 24 × 20-mm ULTRA-WIDEFIELD OPTICAL COHERENCE TOMOGRAPHY ANGIOGRAPHY.

Abstract

To compare the efficacy of detecting diabetic retinal neovascularization (NV) by single captured 24 × 20-mm ultra-widefield optical coherence tomography angiography (UWF-OCTA) with ultra-widefield color fundus photography (UWF-CFP) and ultra-widefield fluorescein angiography (UWF-FA). This cross-sectional study included eyes with diabetic retinopathy undergoing UWF-FA, UWF-CFP, and UWF-OCTA at Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital (February 2022-May 2023). Images were captured using the Optos California system for UWF-CFP and UWF-FA, and the Toward Pi BM400K system for UWF-OCTA. NV was graded based on defined criteria for each imaging modality, with FA serving as the gold standard. The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), specificity, and sensitivity were analyzed by SPSS v19. ICC assessed agreement between UWF-OCTA and the other modalities, whereas specificity and sensitivity were calculated using UWF-FA as the reference. Among 90 eyes (56 participants), UWF-OCTA demonstrated high sensitivity (0.97), specificity (1.0), and accuracy (0.99) for NV detection. UWF-OCTA and UWF-FA showed excellent agreement in NV count within the 24 × 20-mm field (ICC = 0.994, P < 0.001) and in total number (ICC = 0.904, 95% confidence interval: 0.742-0.959, P < 0.001). Combing UWF-OCTA and UWF-CFP panoramically improved NV detection (ICC = 0.988, 95% confidence interval: 0.975-0.994, P < 0.001). UWF-OCTA of 24 × 20 mm is highly effective for NV detection, with excellent agreement to UWF-FA. Combined with UWF-CFP, it serves as a reliable, noninvasive alternative to FA for diabetic retinopathy evaluation.