title: Retinal Arteriolar Morphometry Based on Full Width at Half Maximum Analysis of Spectral-Domain Optical Coherence Tomography Images.
abstract: In this study, we develop a microdensitometry method using full width at half maximum (FWHM) analysis of the retinal vascular structure in a spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) image and present the application of this method in the morphometry of arteriolar changes during hypertension.
  
  
  
  Two raters using manual and FWHM methods measured retinal vessel outer and lumen diameters in SD-OCT images. Inter-rater reproducibility was measured using coefficients of variation (CV), intraclass correlation coefficient and a Bland-Altman plot. OCT images from forty-three eyes of 43 hypertensive patients and 40 eyes of 40 controls were analyzed using an FWHM approach; wall thickness, wall cross-sectional area (WCSA) and wall to lumen ratio (WLR) were subsequently calculated.
  
  
  
  Mean difference in inter-rater agreement ranged from -2.713 to 2.658 μm when using a manual method, and ranged from -0.008 to 0.131 μm when using a FWHM approach. The inter-rater CVs were significantly less for the FWHM approach versus the manual method (P < 0.05). Compared with controls, the wall thickness, WCSA and WLR of retinal arterioles were increased in the hypertensive patients, particular in diabetic hypertensive patients.
  
  
  
  The microdensitometry method using a FWHM algorithm markedly improved inter-rater reproducibility of arteriolar morphometric analysis, and SD-OCT may represent a promising noninvasive method for in vivo arteriolar morphometry.
authors.affiliation: Quzhou People's Hospital, Quzhou Central Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Quzhou, Zhejiang Province, China.
authors.forename: Yu Hua
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Tong
authors.affiliation: Eye Center of Affiliated Second Hospital, Medical College of Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China.
authors.forename: Tie Pei
authors.initials: TP
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: Eye Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Zhejiang Eye Hospital, Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, China.
authors.forename: Ze Lin
authors.initials: ZL
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Quzhou People's Hospital, Quzhou Central Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Quzhou, Zhejiang Province, China.
authors.forename: Hai Jing
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Zhan
authors.affiliation: Quzhou People's Hospital, Quzhou Central Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Quzhou, Zhejiang Province, China.
authors.forename: Fang Zheng
authors.initials: FZ
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.affiliation: Eye Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Zhejiang Eye Hospital, Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, China.
authors.forename: Heng Li
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Lian
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001160:Arterioles / Q000473:pathology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D064368:Healthy Volunteers; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000150:complications*; D007090:Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009898:Optic Disk / Q000098:blood supply; D011379:Prognosis; D011446:Prospective Studies; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012164:Retinal Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology; D041623:Tomography, Optical Coherence / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*