Macular Retinal Ganglion Cell Complex Thickness and Its Relationship to the Optic Nerve Head Topography in Glaucomatous Eyes with Hemifield Defects

Purpose. To evaluate the relationship between the macular ganglion cell complex (mGCC) thickness, which is the sum of the retinal nerve fiber, ganglion cell, and inner plexiform layers, measured with a spectral-domain optical coherence tomograph and the optic nerve head topography measured with a confocal scanning laser ophthalmoscope in glaucomatous eyes with visual field defects localized predominantly to either hemifield. Materials and Methods. The correlation between the mGCC thickness in hemispheres corresponding to hemifields with and without defects (damaged and intact hemispheres, respectively) and the optic nerve head topography corresponding to the respective hemispheres was evaluated in 18 glaucomatous eyes. Results. The mGCC thickness was significantly correlated with the rim volume, mean retinal nerve fiber layer thickness, and cross-sectional area of the retinal nerve fiber layer in both the intact and the damaged hemispheres (P < .05). Discussion. For detecting very early glaucomatous damage of the optic nerve, changes in the thicknesses of the inner retina in the macular area and peripapillary RNFL as well as rim volume changes in the optic nerve head are target parameters that should be carefully monitored

Association between Optic Nerve Head Microcirculation and Macular Ganglion Cell Complex Thickness in Eyes with Untreated Normal Tension Glaucoma and a Hemifield Defect

Purpose. We evaluated the association between optic nerve head (ONH) microcirculation and macular ganglion cell complex (mGCC) thickness in patients with untreated normal tension glaucoma (NTG) and a hemifield defect. Methods. The medical records of 47 patients with untreated NTG were retrospectively reviewed. Laser speckle flowgraphy was used to obtain mean blur rate (MBR), a relative measure of blood flow. Average total deviation (TD), mGCC, and the circumpapillary retinal nerve fiber layer (cpRNFL) thickness were also analyzed. Results. All parameters corresponding to the defective hemifield were significantly lower than those corresponding to the normal hemifield. In the defective hemifield, MBR was correlated with TD, mGCC, and cpRNFL thickness. In the normal hemifield, MBR was only correlated with mGCC thickness, and multiple regression analysis showed that mGCC thickness was a significant contributing factor of the MBR. Conclusion. MBR was well correlated with mGCC thickness in eyes with untreated NTG and a hemifield defect. In the normal hemifield, mGCC thickness was a contributing factor of the MBR indicating that ONH circulatory dysfunction may be associated with retinal structural changes in the early stages of glaucoma. A reduction in ONH microcirculation may be an early indicator of the presence and progression of glaucoma

PETREL for Astrophysics and Carbon Business

A multi-purpose 50kg class microsatellite hosting astrophysical mission and earth remote sensing, PETREL , will be launched in 2023. In the night side, PETREL observe the ultra-violet sky with a wide-field telescope covering 50 deg^2 for surveying transient objects related to supernovae, tidal disruption events, and gravitational wave events. Our UV telescope can detect the early phase UV emission from a neutron star merger occurred within 150 Mpc. In addition to the satellite observation, PETREL sends a detection alert including the coordinate and brightness of the UV transient to the ground via the real time communication network within several minutes after detection to conduct follow-up observations with the collaborating ground based observatories over the world. In the day side, PETREL observes the surface of the earth by using the tunable multi-spectral cameras and a ultra-compact hyperspectral camera. Our potential targets are the tropical forests (Green Carbon) and coastal zones (Blue Carbon) in the tropical areas to evaluating the global biological carbon strages. For this purpose PETREL will conduct multiple scale mapping collaborating with drones and small aircraft not only satellite. The obtained data will be used for academical research and for business applications. The technical difficulty of this satellite is that carries out multi-purpose with different requirements, such as astronomical observations which requires a quite high attitude stability and the earth observations requiring a high pointing accuracy, with limited resources. If it is possible, a novel small satellite system or a business style can be realized that can share the payload with academia and industry. PETREL has been adopted as Innovative Satellite Technology Demonstration Program No.3 led by JAXA, and development is underway with the aim of launching in FY2023

Comparison of Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography and Laser Speckle Flowgraphy for the Diagnosis of Normal-Tension Glaucoma

Purpose. To compare optical coherence tomography angiography (OCT-A) and laser speckle flowgraphy (LSFG) for the diagnosis of normal-tension glaucoma (NTG). Methods. Twenty-eight eyes of 28 patients with NTG and 25 eyes of 25 normal subjects matched for age, refractive errors, systemic blood pressure, and central corneal thickness were evaluated. OCT-A was used to measure whole image vessel density, inside disc vessel density, and peripapillary vessel density; using LSFG, mean blur rate (MBR) inside the whole optic nerve head (ONH) area (MBRA), and MBR of the vessel area (MBRV) and tissue area (MBRT) inside the ONH, were determined. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves and areas under the ROC (AUROC) were used to assess the diagnostic ability of each variable. Results. The AUROC for OCT-A whole image vessel density (0.950) was significantly greater than that for OCT-A peripapillary vessel density (0.830) and for all LSFG parameters (MBRA = 0.793, MBRV = 0.601, and MBRT = 0.61) (P<0.001). The AUROC for OCT-A inside disc vessel density (0.931) was significantly greater than that for all LSFG parameters (P<0.005). Conclusions. OCT-A vessel density had a higher glaucoma diagnostic ability compared to all LSFG parameters in patients with NTG

Size of the Optic Nerve Head and Its Relationship with the Thickness of the Macular Ganglion Cell Complex and Peripapillary Retinal Nerve Fiber Layer in Patients with Primary Open Angle Glaucoma

Purpose. To evaluate the relationships among the optic nerve head (ONH) area, macular ganglion cell complex (mGCC) thickness, circumpapillary retinal nerve fiber layer (cpRNFL) thickness, and visual field defects in patients with primary open angle glaucoma (POAG). Methods. This retrospective study included 90 eyes of 90 patients with POAG. The ONH area, rim area, mGCC thickness, and cpRNFL thickness were measured using optical coherence tomography. Mean deviation (MD) was measured using standard automated perimetry. The relationships among clinical factors including age, refraction, the ONH area, the rim area, the mGCC thickness, the cpRNFL thickness, and MD were evaluated using correlation coefficients and multiple regression analyses. Results. The significant correlation of the ONH area with refraction (r=0.362, P<0.001), the mGCC thickness (r=0.225, P=0.033), and the cpRNFL thickness (r=0.253, P=0.016) was found. Multiple regression analysis showed that the ONH area, rim area, and MD were selected as significant contributing factors to explain the mGCC thickness and cpRNFL thickness. No factor was selected to explain MD. Conclusions. The ONH area, in other words, the disc size itself may affect the mGCC thickness and cpRNFL thickness in POAG patients

Surgical Success Rate of Scleral Buckling Surgery and Postoperative Incidence of Cystoid Macular Edema: 10 Years of Experience at a Single Academic Hospital

The purposes of this study were to report the surgical success rate of scleral buckling surgery (SB) for rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD) in a single academic hospital, analyze the incidence of cystoid macular edema (CME) after SB using optical coherence tomography (OCT), and reveal the factors associated with the development of CME. This was a retrospective observational study of patients with RRD who underwent SB from 2010 to 2020 in a single academic hospital. The anatomical success was initially achieved in 267 of 288 eyes (92.7%), and finally achieved in 288 eyes (100%). After excluding 17 eyes that underwent vitrectomy for reoperations, a total of 271 eyes of 267 patients (173 men; age, 43.5 ± 16.9 years) were retrospectively analyzed to evaluate the incidence of postoperative CME. CME occurred in 6 of 271 eyes (2.2%) within 3 months after initial surgery. Pseudophakic and aphakic eyes appeared more likely to develop CME (chi-squared test: p = 0.0078). Five of the six cases with postoperative CME were able to be medically treated. Scleral buckling surgery showed a high success rate even in the era of small-gauge vitreous surgery, and the postoperative frequency of CME after SB was low (2.2%). Previous cataract surgery may be associated with the development of postoperative CME, which is mostly medically manageable

Predictors for metamorphopsia in eyes undergoing macular hole surgery

Abstract Metamorphopsia is an important visual symptom of macular disease. We determined predictors for metamorphopsia investigating the relationships of macular hole (MH) diameter and retinal layer thicknesses with metamorphopsia after MH surgery. Forty-two eyes of 42 consecutive patients undergoing MH surgery were retrospectively studied. Metamorphopsia was measured with M-CHARTS. Inner nuclear layer (INL) and outer retinal layer (OR) thicknesses were measured 1000 μm away from central fovea at using Spectralis. Preoperative M-CHARTS scores correlated with MH diameters (P = 0.007–0.031) and changes of temporal OR thickness (P = 0.008–0.010). Postoperative M-CHARTS score at 3 months correlated with preoperative nasal and inferior OR thicknesses (P = 0.003 and 0.016) and with changes of superior INL at 3 and 6 months (P = 0.011 and 0.025), and score at 1 month with change of temporal OR at 6 months (P = 0.033). Postoperative improvement of M-CHARTS scores correlated with changes of temporal INL and superior OR (P = 0.026 and 0.002). Multiple regression analysis revealed that MH diameter was a significant predictor for metamorphopsia. Photoreceptor displacement and inner retinal change may generate metamorphopsia in MH undergoing surgery, however MH diameter is the most powerful predictor