Automated Quantification of Nonperfusion in Three Retinal Plexuses Using Projection-Resolved Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography in Diabetic Retinopathy

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate an automated algorithm for detecting avascular area (AA) in optical coherence tomography angiograms (OCTAs) separated into three individual plexuses using a projection-resolved technique. METHODS: A 3 × 3 mm macular OCTA was obtained in 13 healthy and 13 mild nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR) participants. A projection-resolved algorithm segmented OCTA into three vascular plexuses: superficial, intermediate, and deep. An automated algorithm detected AA in each of the three plexuses that were segmented and in the combined inner-retinal angiograms. We assessed the diagnostic accuracy of extrafoveal and total AA using segmented and combined angiograms, the agreement between automated and manual detection of AA, and the within-visit repeatability. RESULTS: The sum of extrafoveal AA from the segmented angiograms was larger in the NPDR group by 0.17 mm(2) (P < 0.001) and detected NPDR with 94.6% sensitivity (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve [AROC] = 0.99). In the combined inner-retinal angiograms, the extrafoveal AA was larger in the NPDR group by 0.01 mm(2) (P = 0.168) and detected NPDR with 26.9% sensitivity (AROC = 0.62). The total AA, inclusive of the foveal avascular zone, in the segmented and combined angiograms, detected NPDR with 23.1% and 7.7% sensitivity, respectively. The agreement between the manual and automated detection of AA had a Jaccard index of >0.8. The pooled SDs of AA were small compared with the difference in mean for control and NPDR groups. CONCLUSIONS: An algorithm to detect AA in OCTA separated into three individual plexuses using a projection-resolved algorithm accurately distinguishes mild NPDR from control eyes. Automatically detected AA agrees with manual delineation and is highly repeatable.