Liu Xindi, Yao Liang, Hao Huaying, Wu Jiayi, Jin Kai, Gao Qi, Wang Xuan, Liao Dingying, Wang Nianjia, Xiang Xintong, Chen Menglu, Zhao Yitian, Ye Juan
Zhejiang University, Eye Center of Second Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China.
Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Zhejiang Provincial Clinical Research Center for Eye Diseases, Zhejiang Provincial Engineering Institute on Eye Diseases, Hangzhou, China.
Ophthalmol Sci. 2025 May 17;5(6):100828. doi: 10.1016/j.xops.2025.100828. eCollection 2025 Nov-Dec.
To achieve clear in vivo imaging and systematic quantification of choriocapillaris (CC), enabling the exploration of age-related and disease-related changes of CC within a large sample size.
Cross-sectional study.
A total of 1050 eyes from 727 individuals, comprising 633 healthy eyes, 277 eyes with age-related macular degeneration (AMD), and 140 eyes with high myopia.
The 3-dimensional (3D) topographic maps of CC were obtained by performing image enhancement, depth reconstruction, and 3D rendering on a single OCT angiography enface image. Based on this map, we targeted key quantitative parameters to analyze vessel thickness, vascular complexity, vascular distribution uniformity, and blood perfusion of CC. We statistically analyzed the correlation between CC metrics and age in healthy population, as well as differences in CC metrics between healthy and diseased populations. To further explore the association between changes in CC and choroidal large vessels, we defined a parameter called "arterial zone (AZ) to venous zone (VZ) ratio" to assess the choroidal large-vessel perfusion.
The 3D topographic map of CC, 8 parameters of CC, and AZ/VZ.
The 3D topographic map effectively displayed the morphology of CC while maintaining high image accuracy. Statistical analysis revealed that with aging, the vessel thickness of CC in healthy eyes became thicker, and there was a decrease in vascular complexity, distribution uniformity, and perfusion. Additionally, AZ/VZ exhibited a trend of initial decline followed by an increase. In eyes with increasing severity of AMD, the vessel thickness of CC showed bidirectional changes followed by significant thickening. Complexity and distribution uniformity initially increased, followed by a marked decrease, whereas blood perfusion decreased initially before increasing. However, no significant intergroup differences in AZ/VZ were observed. In highly myopic eyes, compared to healthy eyes, the CC exhibited vessel thickening, reduced complexity and distribution uniformity, decreased perfusion, and a significant reduction in AZ/VZ.
This study explores age-related and disease-related CC changes via clear in vivo imaging and quantification. It aids understanding of CC states and may contribute to early disease diagnosis and prognosis.
Proprietary or commercial disclosure may be found in the Footnotes and Disclosures at the end of this article.
实现脉络膜毛细血管（CC）的清晰体内成像和系统定量分析，以便在大样本量中探索CC与年龄相关及疾病相关的变化。
横断面研究。
共727名个体的1050只眼睛，包括633只健康眼睛、277只年龄相关性黄斑变性（AMD）眼睛和140只高度近视眼睛。
通过对单幅光学相干断层扫描血管造影（OCTA）正面图像进行图像增强、深度重建和三维（3D）渲染，获得CC的三维地形图。基于此图，我们针对关键定量参数分析CC的血管厚度、血管复杂性、血管分布均匀性和血流灌注。我们对健康人群中CC指标与年龄之间的相关性，以及健康人群与患病群体之间CC指标的差异进行了统计学分析。为了进一步探讨CC变化与脉络膜大血管之间的关联，我们定义了一个名为“动脉区（AZ）与静脉区（VZ）比值”的参数来评估脉络膜大血管灌注。
CC的三维地形图、CC的8个参数以及AZ/VZ。
三维地形图有效地显示了CC的形态，同时保持了较高的图像准确性。统计分析显示，随着年龄增长，健康眼睛中CC的血管厚度变厚，血管复杂性、分布均匀性和灌注减少。此外，AZ/VZ呈现出先下降后上升的趋势。在AMD病情加重的眼睛中，CC的血管厚度呈现双向变化，随后显著增厚。复杂性和分布均匀性最初增加，随后显著下降，而血流灌注最初减少，之后增加。然而，未观察到AZ/VZ在组间有显著差异。在高度近视眼中，与健康眼睛相比，CC表现为血管增厚、复杂性和分布均匀性降低、灌注减少以及AZ/VZ显著降低。
本研究通过清晰的体内成像和定量分析，探索了与年龄相关及疾病相关的CC变化。有助于了解CC状态，并可能有助于疾病的早期诊断和预后评估。
在本文末尾的脚注和披露中可能会找到专有或商业披露信息。
