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Comparative Study
. 2017 May 10;12(5):e0177059.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0177059. eCollection 2017.

OCT-angiography: A qualitative and quantitative comparison of 4 OCT-A devices

Marion R Munk  1   2 , Helena Giannakaki-Zimmermann  1   2 , Lieselotte Berger  1   3 , Wolfgang Huf  4 , Andreas Ebneter  1   3 , Sebastian Wolf  1   2   3 , Martin S Zinkernagel  1   2   3
Affiliations
Comparative Study

OCT-angiography: A qualitative and quantitative comparison of 4 OCT-A devices

Marion R Munk et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Purpose: To compare the quality of four OCT-angiography(OCT-A) modules.

Method: The retina of nineteen healthy volunteers were scanned with four OCT-devices (Topcon DRI-OCT Triton Swept-source OCT, Optovue RTVue-XR, a prototype Spectralis OCT2, Heidelberg-Engineering and Zeiss Cirrus 5000-HD-OCT). The device-software generated en-face OCT-A images of the superficial (SCP) and deep capillary plexuses (DCP) were evaluated and scored by 3 independent retinal imaging experts. The SCP vessel density was assessed using Angiotool-software. After the inter-grader reliability assessment, a consensus grading was performed and the modules were ranked based on their scoring.

Results: There was no significant difference in the vessel density among the modules (Zeiss 48.7±4%, Optovue 47.9±3%, Topcon 48.3±2%, Heidelberg 46.5±4%, p = 0.2). The numbers of discernible vessel-bifurcations differed significantly on each module (Zeiss 2±0.9 bifurcations, Optovue 2.5±1.2, Topcon 1.3±0.7 and Heidelberg 0.5±0.6, p≤0.001). The ranking of each module differed depending on the evaluated parameter. In the overall ranking, the Zeiss module was superior and in 90% better than the median (Bonferroni corrected p-value = 0.04). Optovue was better than the median in 60%, Topcon in 40% and Heidelberg module in 10%, however these differences were not statistically significant.

Conclusion: Each of the four evaluated OCT-A modules had particular strengths, which differentiated it from their competitors.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: I have read the journal's policy and the authors of this manuscript have the following competing interests: Sebastian Wolf is a consultant for Heidelberg Engineering and Zeiss. Martin S Zinkernagel is a consultant for Heidelberg Engineering. The remaining authors have no financial/proprietary interests relevant to this paper. This does not alter our adherence to PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Superficial capillary plexus.
Representative en face scans of the superficial capillary plexus (SCP) using the Swept source OCT Angio Topcon DRI OCT Triton (Top left), the Angiovue Optovue RTVue XR Avanti, (Top right), the Prototype of Spectralis OCT2 module with full spectrum decorrelation algorithm, Heidelberg Engineering (Bottom left) and the Zeiss AngioPlex Cirrus 5000 HD-OCT (Bottom right).
Fig 2
Fig 2. Deep capillary plexus.
Representative en face scans of the deep capillary plexus (SCP) using the Swept source OCT Angio Topcon DRI OCT Triton (Top left), the Angiovue Optovue RTVue XR Avanti, (Top right), the Prototype of Spectralis OCT2 module with full spectrum decorrelation algorithm, Heidelberg Engineering (Bottom left) and the Zeiss AngioPlex Cirrus 5000 HD-OCT (Bottom right).
Fig 3
Fig 3. Severe motion artefacts.
Representative examples of severe motion artefacts.
Fig 4
Fig 4. Projection artefacts and further examples of evaluated parameters.
Top: Representative example of some projection artefacts (white arrows). Bottom: Example of “vessel continuity not preserved” of the small and large vessels. Central specular dots (white arrow) a form of image artefact, which can be seen in healthy eyes is shown.
Fig 5
Fig 5. OCT-A module ranking.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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