Ultrasound assessment of retina in patients with nonexudative and exudative ARMD

Abstract

Introduction. Age-related macular degeneration (ARMD) is the cause of irreversible vision loss in people aged 50 and older in the developed world. The early clinical changes seen in ARMD, such as drusen and pigmentary abnormalities in the macula, are thought to be clinical markers of the risk of developing the late ARMD. In assessment of the structural changes in retina there are some methods such as autofluorescence imaging or optical coherence tomography. However, sometimes there are no possibilities to use these diagnostic tools. Ultrasonic methods stand out in opthalmology with good informative value among the noninvasive methods. Early detection of lesions and accurate diagnosis leads to effective assistance. in the last decade, ultrasound probes with higher frequency and higher resolution have been commercialized, such as the 20 MHz probe used for eye posterior pole studies. Frequency is important in ultrasound because it is directly related to resolution and inversely related to penetration of ultrasonographic images. Aim. Our aim was to compare B scan ultrasound signals backscattered from healthy tissues with signals from nonexudative (dry) and exudative (wet) ARMD areas. [...].