Reconstruction and Visualization of 5μm Sectional Coronal Views for Macula Vasculature in OptoVue OCTA

A Computerized Medical Image Processing (CMIP) method is proposed to address the current challenges of optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA): 1) the need for observing the macula vasculature concerning natural curvature of the macula region; 2) the need for generating OCTA frames at successive small depths in all macula layers; and 3) the need for enhancing the visibility of blood vessels, particularly below the outer retina region. The proposed CMIP method involves image preprocessing, reconstruction, and enhancement stages. Twenty subjects were obtained from the OCTA500 dataset, which was obtained from the OptoVue OCTA machine. The 20 subjects comprise the two OCTA fields of view (FOV), right and left eyes (OD and OS), and five common macula disorders. The sequential enface OCTA images at $5\mu \text{m}$ macula depths were displayed. The presentation of the macula vasculature was enhanced at all depths. The resulting new ophthalmic views enable: 1) avoiding the superimposition of macula vasculature into a projection map; 2) enhancing the OCTA presentation of blood vessels; and 3) inspecting the macula's 3D oval-shaped. The proposed CMIP method can generate sectional macula coronal views (MCV) for every $5\mu \text{m}$ depth, clarifying the macula's curvature in a way that has not been presented in OCTA machines. Therefore, tracking the 3D propagation of the blood vessel network at all macula depths becomes possible. Furthermore, the blood vessels' display at all macula depths, including the deep choroid layers, is enhanced. The method yields futuristic ophthalmic advantages that would allow the physician to precisely inspect the 3D localization and diffusion of the macula disorders. The method is invariant to the OCTA's FOVs, macula disorder, and OD or OS eye.

Automated summary

A Computerized Medical Image Processing (CMIP) method is proposed to address the challenges in optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA), including observing macula vasculature with natural curvature, generating OCTA frames at successive small depths in all macula layers, and enhancing visibility of blood vessels below outer retina. The proposed method involving image preprocessing, reconstruction, and enhancement stages improves the presentation of macula vasculature and enables tracking the 3D propagation of blood vessels. It also enhances the display of blood vessels at all macula depths, including deep choroid layers, providing advantages for precise inspection of macula disorders.