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REVIEW article

Front. Med.
Sec. Ophthalmology
Volume 11 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fmed.2024.1428850
This article is part of the Research Topic Imaging in Glaucoma View all articles

Applications of optical coherence tomography angiography in glaucoma: current status and future directions

Provisionally accepted
Ruyue Shen Ruyue Shen 1Leo Ka Yu Chan Leo Ka Yu Chan 1,2Amber C. Yip Amber C. Yip 1Poemen P. Chan Poemen P. Chan 1,2,3,4*
  • 1 Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong Region, China
  • 2 Hong Kong Eye Hospital, Kowloon, Hong Kong, SAR China
  • 3 Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, The Prince of Wales Hospital, Shatin, Hong Kong, SAR China
  • 4 Lam Kin Chung. Jet King-Shing Ho Glaucoma Treatment and Research Centre, Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong, SAR China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Glaucoma is a leading cause of irreversible blindness worldwide, with its pathophysiology remaining inadequately understood. Among the various proposed theories, the vascular theory, suggesting a crucial role of retinal vasculature deterioration in glaucoma onset and progression, has gained significant attention. Traditional imaging techniques, such as fundus fluorescein angiography, are limited by their invasive nature, time consumption, and qualitative output, which restrict their efficacy in detailed retinal vessel examination. Optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) emerges as a revolutionary imaging modality, offering non-invasive, detailed visualization of the retinal and optic nerve head microvasculature, thereby marking a significant advancement in glaucoma diagnostics and management. Since its introduction, OCTA has been extensively utilized for retinal vasculature imaging, underscoring its potential to enhance our understanding of glaucoma's pathophysiology, improving diagnosis, and monitoring disease progression. This review aims to summarize the current knowledge regarding the role of OCTA in glaucoma, particularly its potential applications in diagnosing, monitoring, and understanding the pathophysiology of the disease. Parameters pertinent to glaucoma will be elucidated to illustrate the utility of OCTA as a tool to guide glaucoma management.

    Keywords: optical coherence tomography angiography, Glaucoma, Vessel density, retinal imaging, Glaucoma progression detection

    Received: 07 May 2024; Accepted: 04 Sep 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Shen, Chan, Yip and Chan. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Poemen P. Chan, Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong Region, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.