Application of Pattern Recognition Analysis to Optimize Hemifield Asymmetry Patterns for Early Detection of Glaucoma

PURPOSE: To assess the diagnostic utility of a new hemifield asymmetry analysis derived using pattern recognition contrast sensitivity isocontours (CSIs) within the Humphrey Field Analyzer (HFA) 24-2 visual field (VF) test grid. The performance of an optimal CSI-derived map was compared against a commercially available clustering method (Glaucoma Hemifield Test, GHT). METHODS: Five hundred VF results of 116 healthy subjects were used to determine normative distribution limits for comparisons. Pattern recognition analysis was applied to HFA 24-2 sensitivity data to determine CSI theme maps delineating clusters for hemifield comparisons. Then, 1019 VF results from 228 glaucoma patients were assessed using different clustering methods to determine the true-positive rate. We also assessed additional 354 VF results of 145 healthy subjects to determine the false-positive rate. RESULTS: The optimum clustering method was the CSI-derived seven-theme class map, which identified more glaucomatous VFs compared with the GHT map. The seven-class theme map also identified more cases compared with the five-, six-, and eight-class maps, suggesting no effect of number of clusters. Integrating information regarding the location of glaucomatous defects to the CSI clusters did not improve detection rate. CONCLUSIONS: A clustering map derived using CSIs improved detection of glaucomatous VFs compared with the currently available GHT. An optimized CSI-derived map may serve as an additional means to aid earlier detection of glaucoma. TRANSLATIONAL RELEVANCE: Pattern recognition–derived theme maps provide a means for guiding test point selection for asymmetry analysis in glaucoma assessment.