Different physiological and pathological conditions in relation to morphological retinal vasculature data measured with optical coherence tomography angiography

Since the invention of the ophthalmoscope, scientists and clinicians
have consistently tried to use the eye as a window to monitor
systemic conditions. For instance, studies based on colour fundus
photography revealed the value of retinal arteriolar-to-venular ratio
to predict stroke or cerebral small vessel disease risk. Fluorescein
angiography has become the standard method to analyze retinal and
optic nerve vasculature and diagnose vascular diseases of the retina.
With the advent of Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography
(OCTA), a non-invasive diagnostic technique came available, which
changed the indications of classic invasive fluorescein angiography
and added additional features to the plethora of multimodal imaging
known in present-day ophthalmology.
Using OCTA, vessel maps of retinal layers can be produced. The
surface that these vessels cover, may be quantified into a measure
called vessel density.
The present thesis examines vessel density changes observed in
physiology (dark and light adaptation) and pathology (patients with
diabetes and cerebral autosomal-dominant arteriopathy with
subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy) and the value of OCTA
in these disorders.