Quantifying Changes on OCT in Eyes Receiving Treatment for Neovascular Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Purpose

Application of artificial intelligence (AI) to macular OCT scans to segment and quantify volumetric change in anatomical and pathological features during intravitreal treatment for neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

Design

Retrospective analysis of OCT images from the Moorfields Eye Hospital AMD Database.

Participants

A total of 2115 eyes from 1801 patients starting anti-VEGF treatment between June 1, 2012, and June 30, 2017.

Methods

The Moorfields Eye Hospital neovascular AMD database was queried for first and second eyes receiving anti-VEGF treatment and had an OCT scan at baseline and 12 months. Follow-up scans were input into the AI system and volumes of OCT variables were studied at different time points and compared with baseline volume groups. Cross-sectional comparisons between time points were conducted using Mann–Whitney U test.

Main Outcome Measures

Volume outputs of the following variables were studied: intraretinal fluid, subretinal fluid, pigment epithelial detachment (PED), subretinal hyperreflective material (SHRM), hyperreflective foci, neurosensory retina, and retinal pigment epithelium.

Results

Mean volumes of analyzed features decreased significantly from baseline to both 4 and 12 months, in both first-treated and second-treated eyes. Pathological features that reflect exudation, including pure fluid components (intraretinal fluid and subretinal fluid) and those with fluid and fibrovascular tissue (PED and SHRM), displayed similar responses to treatment over 12 months. Mean PED and SHRM volumes showed less pronounced but also substantial decreases over the first 2 months, reaching a plateau postloading phase, and minimal change to 12 months. Both neurosensory retina and retinal pigment epithelium volumes showed gradual reductions over time, and were not as substantial as exudative features.

Conclusions

We report the results of a quantitative analysis of change in retinal segmented features over time, enabled by an AI segmentation system. Cross-sectional analysis at multiple time points demonstrated significant associations between baseline OCT-derived segmented features and the volume of biomarkers at follow-up. Demonstrating how certain OCT biomarkers progress with treatment and the impact of pretreatment retinal morphology on different structural volumes may provide novel insights into disease mechanisms and aid the personalization of care. Data will be made public for future studies.

Financial Disclosure(s)

Proprietary or commercial disclosure may be found in the Footnotes and Disclosures at the end of this article.