Multimodal imaging of ocular surface vasculature
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Multimodal imaging of ocular surface vasculature
IRAS ID
187808
Contact name
Debbie Atkinson
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals NHS Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 6 months, 1 days
Research summary
The cornea is the the clear tissue at the front of the eye. In its healthy state, it contains no blood vessels. Various pathological conditions such as inflammation and infection promote new vessels to grow within or on the surface of the cornea, termed corneal neovascularization (CoNV). It is uncertain which of the vessel arcades that surround the cornea give rise to these CoNV and if it is peculiar to the inciting condition or location on the cornea. Identification of the source could facilitate treatments aimed at the source of the new vessels. A common and clinically widely used method for quantifying CoNV is by analyzing photographic images of the cornea. The difficulty with this approach is that not all blood vessels are visible, especially in the presence of scarring. Corneal angiography using fluorescein and indocyanine green dyes has enabled the identification of many previously unseen vessels (including lymphatics and acellular vessels) in the diseased cornea. Angiography has also formed the basis for a reliable method for assessing and quantifying vessel parameters. For example, time-to-leakage of the dye reflects vessel maturity, and offers the potential to stage vessel activity. We propose an observational study to investigate the origins and course of CoNV in patients with inflammatory ocular surface disease (infective and non infective such as microbial keratitis and allergic eye disease) by serial corneal angiography and other commonly used imaging modalities such as anterior segment OCT and confocal microscopy.
REC name
London - Stanmore Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
15/LO/2166
Date of REC Opinion
24 Dec 2015
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion