Linear and planar reflection artifacts on swept-source and spectral-domain optical coherence tomography due to hyperreflective crystalline deposits

Publication Date

2020

Journal Title

Graefes Arch Clin Exp Ophthalmol

Abstract

© 2019, Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature. Purpose: To describe novel spectral-domain (SD) and swept-source (SS) optical coherence tomography (OCT) linear and planar reflection artifacts produced by hyperreflective crystalline deposits (HCD). Methods: Imaging from 10 eyes with HCD producing linear and planar artifacts on OCT was retrospectively analyzed. All eyes had SD-OCT (Spectralis HRA + OCT, Heidelberg Engineering, Germany) and SS-OCT angiography (PLEX Elite 9000, Carl Zeiss Meditec, Inc., Dublin, CA) acquired on the same day. The horizontal extent of planar artifacts and the corresponding HCD on B-scans was measured using a digital caliper. Artifact features from HCD in eyes with non-neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD) were analyzed and compared to those seen in two eyes with the “onion sign,” an OCT signature previously shown to represent cholesterol crystals (CC) in the sub-retinal piNorthwell Healthnt epithelium-basal laminar space of eyes with neovascular AMD. A third eye with the “onion sign” was imaged with dense B-scan (DB)-OCTA. Results: Ten eyes of ten patients (77.4 ± 8.7 years) with HCD were analyzed. On SS-OCTA, HCD produced linear artifacts of high signal intensity passing through the HCD and spanning the entire scan depth. On SD-OCT, HCD produced planar artifacts located anterior to both the retina and a hyporeflective space representing normal vitreous signal. The horizontal extent of the artifact did not differ significantly from the corresponding HCD on OCT B-scans (P = 0.62). The OCT artifacts produced by the “onion sign” appeared similar to those of HCD. The additional eye with neovascular AMD imaged with DB-OCTA was characterized by a single, vertical, linear false-flow signal crossing retinal layers. Conclusions: To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first description of SD- and SS-OCT/OCTA artifacts corresponding to both HCD and the “onion sign.” These artifacts are likely due to highly reflective CC previously shown on histology to correspond to both of these OCT signatures.

Volume Number

258

Issue Number

3

Pages

491 - 501

Document Type

Article

Status

Faculty

Facility

School of Medicine

Primary Department

Ophthalmology

PMID

31879821

DOI

10.1007/s00417-019-04565-y

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