title: In vivo three-dimensional characterization of the healthy human lamina cribrosa with adaptive optics spectral-domain optical coherence tomography.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To characterize the in vivo three-dimensional (3D) lamina cribrosa (LC) microarchitecture of healthy eyes using adaptive optics spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (AO-SDOCT).
  
  
  METHODS
  A multimodal retinal imaging system with a light source centered at 1050 nm and AO confocal scanning laser ophthalmoscopy was used in this study. One randomly selected eye from 18 healthy subjects was scanned in a 6° × 6° window centered on the LC. Subjects also underwent scanning with Cirrus HD-OCT. Lamina cribrosa microarchitecture was semiautomatically segmented and quantified for connective tissue volume fraction (CTVF), beam thickness, pore diameter, pore area, and pore aspect ratio. The LC was assessed in central and peripheral regions of equal areas and quadrants and with depth. A linear mixed effects model weighted by the fraction of visible LC was used to compare LC structure between regions.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The nasal quadrant was excluded due to poor visualization. The central sector showed greater CTVF and thicker beams as compared to the periphery (P < 0.01). Both superior and inferior quadrants showed greater CTVF, pore diameter, and pore mean area than the temporal quadrant (P < 0.05). Depth analysis showed that the anterior and posterior aspects of the LC contained smaller pores with greater density and thinner beams as compared to the middle third (P < 0.05). The anterior third also showed a greater CTVF than the middle third (P < 0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In vivo analysis of healthy eyes using AO-SDOCT showed significant, albeit small, regional variation in LC microarchitecture by quadrant, radially, and with depth, which should be considered in further studies of the LC.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Eye Center, Eye and Ear Institute, Ophthalmology and Visual Science Research Center, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States.
authors.forename: Zach
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Nadler
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Eye Center, Eye and Ear Institute, Ophthalmology and Visual Science Research Center, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States Department of Bioengineering, Swanson School of Engineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States.
authors.forename: Bo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Eye Center, Eye and Ear Institute, Ophthalmology and Visual Science Research Center, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States Department of Bioengineering, Swanson School of Engineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States.
authors.forename: Joel S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Schuman
authors.affiliation: Physical Sciences, Inc., Andover, Massachusetts, United States.
authors.forename: R Daniel
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Ferguson
authors.affiliation: Physical Sciences, Inc., Andover, Massachusetts, United States.
authors.forename: Ankit
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Patel
authors.affiliation: Center for Devices and Radiological Health, Food and Drug Administration, Silver Springs, Maryland, United States.
authors.forename: Daniel X
authors.initials: DX
authors.lastname: Hammer
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Eye Center, Eye and Ear Institute, Ophthalmology and Visual Science Research Center, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States Department of Biostatistics, Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States.
authors.forename: Richard A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Bilonick
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Eye Center, Eye and Ear Institute, Ophthalmology and Visual Science Research Center, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States Department of Bioengineering, Swanson School of Engineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States.
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ishikawa
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Eye Center, Eye and Ear Institute, Ophthalmology and Visual Science Research Center, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States Department of Bioengineering, Swanson School of Engineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States.
authors.forename: Larry
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Kagemann
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Eye Center, Eye and Ear Institute, Ophthalmology and Visual Science Research Center, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States Department of Bioengineering, Swanson School of Engineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States.
authors.forename: Ian A
authors.initials: IA
authors.lastname: Sigal
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Eye Center, Eye and Ear Institute, Ophthalmology and Visual Science Research Center, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States.
authors.forename: Gadi
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wollstein
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D004867:Equipment Design; D005260:Female; D005901:Glaucoma / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology; D064368:Healthy Volunteers; D006801:Humans; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional; D007429:Intraocular Pressure; D008297:Male; D009898:Optic Disk / Q000473:pathology*; D055095:Optics and Photonics; D041623:Tomography, Optical Coherence / Q000295:instrumentation*; D014794:Visual Fields
keywords: OCT; in vivo; structure