In Vivo Retinal Pigment Epithelium Imaging using Transscleral Optical Imaging in Healthy Eyes

Laura Kowalczuk, PhD; Rémy Dornier; Mathieu Kunzi; Antonio Iskandar, MD; Zuzana Misutkova, MD; Aurélia Gryczka; Aurélie Navarro; Fanny Jeunet; Irmela Mantel, MD; Francine Behar-Cohen, MD, PhD; Timothé Laforest, PhD; Christophe Moser, PhD

Ophthalmology Science (Mar 2023)

In Vivo Retinal Pigment Epithelium Imaging using Transscleral Optical Imaging in Healthy Eyes

Laura Kowalczuk, PhD,
Rémy Dornier,
Mathieu Kunzi,
Antonio Iskandar, MD,
Zuzana Misutkova, MD,
Aurélia Gryczka,
Aurélie Navarro,
Fanny Jeunet,
Irmela Mantel, MD,
Francine Behar-Cohen, MD, PhD,
Timothé Laforest, PhD,
Christophe Moser, PhD

Affiliations

Laura Kowalczuk, PhD: Laboratory of Applied Photonic Devices, School of Engineering, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland; Faculty of Biology and Medicine, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland; Jules-Gonin Eye Hospital, Fondation Asile des aveugles, Lausanne, Switzerland; Correspondence: Laura Kowalczuk, PhD, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, School of Engineering, Institute of Electrical and Micro-engineering, Laboratory of Applied Photonics Devices, BM 4127, Station 17, CH-1015, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Rémy Dornier: Laboratory of Applied Photonic Devices, School of Engineering, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
Mathieu Kunzi: Laboratory of Applied Photonic Devices, School of Engineering, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
Antonio Iskandar, MD: Faculty of Biology and Medicine, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland; Jules-Gonin Eye Hospital, Fondation Asile des aveugles, Lausanne, Switzerland
Zuzana Misutkova, MD: Faculty of Biology and Medicine, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland; Jules-Gonin Eye Hospital, Fondation Asile des aveugles, Lausanne, Switzerland
Aurélia Gryczka: Faculty of Biology and Medicine, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland; Jules-Gonin Eye Hospital, Fondation Asile des aveugles, Lausanne, Switzerland
Aurélie Navarro: Faculty of Biology and Medicine, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland; Jules-Gonin Eye Hospital, Fondation Asile des aveugles, Lausanne, Switzerland
Fanny Jeunet: Faculty of Biology and Medicine, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland; Jules-Gonin Eye Hospital, Fondation Asile des aveugles, Lausanne, Switzerland
Irmela Mantel, MD: Faculty of Biology and Medicine, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland; Jules-Gonin Eye Hospital, Fondation Asile des aveugles, Lausanne, Switzerland
Francine Behar-Cohen, MD, PhD: Centre de Recherche des Cordeliers, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris, France; INSERM U1138, USPC, Université de Paris-Cité, Sorbonne Université, Paris, France; Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris, Ophtalmopôle, Cochin Hospital, Paris, France; Université Paris Cité, Paris, France; Hôpital Foch, Suresnes, France
Timothé Laforest, PhD: Laboratory of Applied Photonic Devices, School of Engineering, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
Christophe Moser, PhD: Laboratory of Applied Photonic Devices, School of Engineering, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland

Journal volume & issue: Vol. 3, no. 1
p. 100234

Abstract

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Objective: To image healthy retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells in vivo using Transscleral OPtical Imaging (TOPI) and to analyze statistics of RPE cell features as a function of age, axial length (AL), and eccentricity. Design: Single-center, exploratory, prospective, and descriptive clinical study. Participants: Forty-nine eyes (AL: 24.03 ± 0.93 mm; range: 21.9–26.7 mm) from 29 participants aged 21 to 70 years (37.1 ± 13.3 years; 19 men, 10 women). Methods: Retinal images, including fundus photography and spectral-domain OCT, AL, and refractive error measurements were collected at baseline. For each eye, 6 high-resolution RPE images were acquired using TOPI at different locations, one of them being imaged 5 times to evaluate the repeatability of the method. Follow-up ophthalmic examination was repeated 1 to 3 weeks after TOPI to assess safety. Retinal pigment epithelial images were analyzed with a custom automated software to extract cell parameters. Statistical analysis of the selected high-contrast images included calculation of coefficient of variation (CoV) for each feature at each repetition and Spearman and Mann–Whitney tests to investigate the relationship between cell features and eye and subject characteristics. Main Outcome Measures: Retinal pigment epithelial cell features: density, area, center-to-center spacing, number of neighbors, circularity, elongation, solidity, and border distance CoV. Results: Macular RPE cell features were extracted from TOPI images at an eccentricity of 1.6° to 16.3° from the fovea. For each feature, the mean CoV was 50 years. Conclusions: The TOPI technology imaged RPE cells in vivo with a repeatability of < 4% for the CoV and was used to analyze the influence of physiologic factors on RPE cell morphometry in the perifovea of healthy volunteers. Financial Disclosure(s): Proprietary or commercial disclosure may be found after the references.

Published in Ophthalmology Science

ISSN: 2666-9145 (Online)
Publisher: Elsevier
Country of publisher: United States
LCC subjects: Medicine: Ophthalmology
Website: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/ophthalmology-science/

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