Review Article

Modern Diagnostic Techniques for the Assessment of Ocular Blood Flow in Myopia: Current State of Knowledge

Table 1

Table summarizing the techniques of ocular blood flow measurement in myopia.

MethodsPrinciple of each methodFindings in myopia

Laser Doppler flowmeter (LDF)Measurement of blood cells traversing volume which are reflecting the light, and the light undergoes a Doppler shiftRetinal blood flow is decreased in highly and mild myopic eyes
Laser Doppler velocimetry (LDV)Doppler shift for interfered lights reflected from blood cellsNo data
Retinal vessel analyzer (RVA)Measurement of the diameter of retinal vessels in relation to time and locationIn high myopia, the vessels at the posterior pole have smaller diameter but are functionally comparable to control subjects
Retinal function imager (RFI)Measurement of the haemodynamic parameters such as retinal blood flow velocity, oximetric state, metabolic responses to photic activation, and generation of capillary perfusion maps (CPM); RFI maps the retina to the resolution of single red blood cells moving through capillariesNo significant difference in retinal microcirculation blood flow velocity in either arterioles or venules
Laser speckle contrast imaging (LSCI)Measurement of velocity distributions which are coded as speckle contrast variationsDecreased optic nerve microcirculation in eyes with myopic optic discs
Pulsatile ocular blood flowmeter (POBF)Measurement with the use of a pneumotonometer, which registers changes in intraocular pressure during each cardiac cycleIn high myopes, pulsatile ocular blood flow as well as ocular blood flow amplitude and volume is decreased
Fundus pulsation amplitude (FPA)Measurement of the distance between the cornea and the retina during the cardiac cycle with the use of laser interferometryDecrease in the FPA index along with increased axial length
Fluorescein and indocyanine angiography (FA, ICG)Examining the circulation of the retina and choroid using a fluorescent dye and a specialized cameraDelayed blood flow in highly myopic eyes
Optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA)Measurement of laser light reflectance of the surface of moving red blood cellsReduced perfusion in the peripapillary retina and decreased superficial and deep retinal vascular density in annular zone of myopic eyes
Colour Doppler imaging (CDI)Measurement of backscattered signals as a function of the motion of the erythrocytes toward or away from the transducerDecreased blood flow velocity in the retrobulbar vessels, increased resistance index in central retinal artery
Doppler optical coherence tomography (DOCT)Measuring the phase changes between two scans which is a quantitative value for the velocity if the time between the two measurements is knownDOCT could indicate choroidal neovascularization in pathological myopia
Retinal oximetryMeasurement of the optical densities of retinal vessels for two wavelengths and their ratio, which is known to be proportional to the oxygen saturationReduced saturation in high myopia
Magnetic resonance imagingMethod that provides structural, physiological, and functional image of tissue with the use of magnetic properties of certain atomic nucleiIn severe myopia, blood flow is markedly reduced
Blue light entoptoscopyMeasurement of average leukocyte velocity in area around the foveola by the use of entoptic phenomenonNo data
Ocular surface temperature (OST)Measurement of infrared energy emitted from objectNo data