Therapeutic Advances in Ophthalmology (May 2020)

Correction of perceived visual distortions using a software application and correlation to age-related macular degeneration

  • Muhammad Hassan,
  • Adithi D. Chakravarthy,
  • Mahadevan Subramaniam,
  • Parvathi Chundi,
  • Mohammad Ali Sadiq,
  • Muhammad Sohail Halim,
  • Rubbia Afridi,
  • Anh N.T. Tran,
  • Yasir J. Sepah,
  • Diana V. Do,
  • Quan Dong Nguyen

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1177/2515841420917783
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 12

Abstract

Read online

Purpose: To investigate the use of software-generated corrections in neutralizing perceived distortions in age-related macular degeneration. Methods: A tablet-based application was utilized to elicit distortions. Five subjects (seven eyes: neovascular age-related macular degeneration and three eyes: non-neovascular age-related macular degeneration) traced the reference lines, and their distortion traces were recorded. To counter distortion, a software-generated trace was re-traced by subjects to produce a corrected trace. Final traces were superimposed on optical coherence tomography images and following distances calculated: (a) dDT: distance between distortion trace and reference line; (b) dGT: distance between software-generated trace and corrected trace; (c) dCT: distance between corrected trace and reference line. Mean percent improvement in distortion was reported. Mean effectiveness of correction was also reported by utilizing t test to compare dDT and dCT. The number of distortion traces with underlying lesions on optical coherence tomography was also analyzed. Results: Mean age of the subjects was 76.6 (±9.5) years. Each patient traced six reference lines and each was considered a separate case. Out of 30 cases, 17 (56.6%) elicited distortion. Mean percent improvement in distortion was 71.3 ± 23% ( p < 0.05). Twelve cases (70.6%) had an underlying lesion (eight cases: disrupted photoreceptor layer and four cases: normal photoreceptor layer). Mean percent improvement in cases with normal photoreceptor layer (90.8 ± 5.45%) was higher than with abnormal photoreceptor layer (58.5 ± 7.17%) ( p < 0.05). Five cases with distortion had no associated underlying lesion. Mean percent improvement in these subjects was significantly higher than those with photoreceptor layer disruption. Conclusion: Software-generated corrections can potentially correct for perceived distortions in patients with age-related macular degeneration, especially in cases with preserved photoreceptor layer.