# OCT Angiography for Age-related Macular Degeneration

> **NIH NIH R01** · OREGON HEALTH & SCIENCE UNIVERSITY · 2024 · $685,663

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is an eye disease leading to permanent central vision loss. Our prior
work focused on using optical coherence tomographic angiography (OCTA) in the diagnosis and management
of choroidal neovascularization (CNV), the characteristic feature of exudative AMD. Our clinical studies have
shown OCTA has high sensitivity and specificity for CNV detection when evaluated by clinicians and artificial
intelligence; we have developed novel CNV quantitative metrics to monitor treatment response; and, have shown
OCTA can identify non-exudative CNV that carries a high risk for developing exudation. Though exudative AMD
is treatable, many eyes under treatment will lose vision due to developing advanced dry AMD, characterized by
geographic atrophy (GA). There is great interest in using OCTA to detect perfusion defects in the choriocapillaris
and retinal DCP that could serve as biomarkers for eyes at risk for developing advanced AMD prior to vision
loss. We will accomplish these goals with the following aims and evaluations: Aim 1: Improve imaging of the
choriocapillaris and deep capillary plexus (DCP). Our high-speed swept-source (SS)-OCT prototype has
shown superior resolution compared to other OCTA devices. However, several issues currently still prevent clean
visualization of deep vascular layers on 9×9-mm scans at the central macula. We will address these issues by
optimizing scan sampling density, improving the OCTA computation algorithm, and developing a new projection
resolution algorithm that is effective in these layers. Aim 2: Develop quantitative analysis of choriocapillaris
and deep capillary plexus perfusion defects. Imaging capillaries in deeper anatomic layers is difficult due to
signal attenuation and background noise. To compensate for these effects, we will improve avascular area
measurements by including a capillary reconstruction strategy in the pre-processing steps. We will also develop
a novel flow defect measurement by combining the structural OCT and OCTA signals that will be able to identify
non-perfused capillary segments. Aim 3: Evaluate advanced OCTA for AMD in clinical studies. Three clinical
studies will test three advanced OCTA-derived biomarkers: choriocapillaris avascular area, DCP avascular
areas, and non-perfused capillary length in the DCP. (1) Conduct a cross-sectional study to determine if the
advanced OCTA biomarkers are associated with increasingly advanced stages of AMD. (2) Conduct a
longitudinal study that evaluates eyes with intermediate AMD to determine if advanced OCTA biomarkers can
identify eyes at risk factors for developing advanced AMD. (3) Conduct a longitudinal study of eyes with exudative
AMD under treatment, to determine if the advanced OCTA biomarkers will predict eyes at risk for developing
GA. If successful, OCTA will enable a better understanding of the role of choriocapillaris and DCP in AMD
pathogenesis and will help predict eyes at risk for developi...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10849766
- **Project number:** 5R01EY024544-10
- **Recipient organization:** OREGON HEALTH & SCIENCE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Steven T Bailey
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $685,663
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2014-09-01 → 2027-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10849766

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10849766, OCT Angiography for Age-related Macular Degeneration (5R01EY024544-10). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-27 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10849766. Licensed CC0.

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