Relationship between vessel diameter and depth measurements within the limbus using ultra-high resolution optical coherence tomography

PURPOSE: To establish a relationship between the diameter and depth position of vessels in the superior and inferior corneo-scleral limbus using ultra-high resolution optical coherence tomography (UHR-OCT). METHODS: Volumetric OCT images of the superior and inferior limbus were acquired from 14 healthy subjects with a research-grade UHR-OCT system. Differences in vessel diameter and depth between superior and inferior limbus were analyzed using repeated measured ANOVA in SPSS and R. RESULTS: The mean (± SD) superior and inferior diameters were 29 ± 18 μm and 24 ± 18 μm respectively, and the mean (± SD) superior and inferior depths were 177 ± 109 μm and 207 ± 132 μm respectively. The superior limbal vessels were larger than the inferior ones (RM-ANOVA, p = 0.004), and the inferior limbal vessels were deeper than the superior vessels (RM-ANOVA, p = 0.041). There was a positive linear association between limbal vessel depth and size within the superior and inferior limbus with Pearson correlation coefficients of 0.803 and 0.754, respectively. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated that the UHR-OCT was capable of imaging morphometric characteristics such as the size and depth of vessels in the limbus. The results of this study suggest a difference in the size and depth of vessels across different positions of the limbus, which may be indicative of adaptations to chronic hypoxia caused by the covering of the superior limbus by the upper eyelid. UHR-OCT may be a useful tool to evaluate the effect of contact lenses on the microvascular properties within the limbus.