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Teleretinal imaging 'excellent' in detecting AMD
Nonmydriatic digital retinal imaging demonstrated high specificity and sensitivity in the detection of age-related macular degeneration, according to a study recently published in Optometry and Vision Science.
Duchin and colleagues evaluated 47 male participants between the ages of 57 and 88.
All participants underwent a stereoscopic dilated examination by a retina specialist where their AMD level was recorded. Additionally, they underwent mydriatic and nonmydriatic (Topcon NW-8 nonmydriatic camera, Topcon Medical Systems) digital retinal imaging. All tests were conducted on the same day.
All images were graded by two readers that used Age-Related Eye Disease Study criteria to identify the images as referable or nonreferable. Those grades were compared with conclusions from the retinal specialist to determine specificity and sensitivity.
Results showed that sensitivity and specificity for nonreferable and referable AMD was high. Researchers reported that the average specificity for nonreferable AMD was 0.83 and the average sensitivity was 1.0. The average specificity for referable AMD was 0.81, and the average sensitivity was 0.86.
"Our study showed that nonmydriatic digital retinal imaging had excellent sensitivity and specificity in identifying referable vs. nonreferable AMD in an existing validated telemedicine pathway for diabetic retinopathy screening," the authors concluded. "With AMD as the leading cause of irreversible blindness in Americans older than 55 years, teleretinal imaging has the potential for earlier identification of subjects with the disease and could allow for timely intervention."
They continued: "It is possible that other diagnostic display features, such as stereo viewing or red/green viewing channels, or newer imaging techniques, such as optical coherence tomography and autofluorescence, could further enhance AMD detection." – by Chelsea Frajerman Pardes
Disclosures: The authors report no relevant financial disclosures.