Measurement of blood flow velocity in feeder vessels of choroidal neovascularization by a scanning laser ophthalmoscope and image analysis system.

PURPOSE To measure the blood flow velocities in feeder vessels of patients with choroidal neovascularization (CNV) secondary to age-related macular degeneration. METHODS We examined the early images of indocyanine green videoangiography (v-ICGA) in 29 patients (29 eyes) with CNV, in whom feeder vessels could be identified by v-ICGA. The v-ICGA images were installed in a personal computer. With original software, optical density measurements were performed for the determination of dye-dilution curves. The flow velocity in a CNV feeder vessel was obtained by analyzing the dye-dilution curves. RESULTS The mean flow velocity in feeder vessels was 33.8 +/- 32.5 mm/s. The flow velocity in feeder vessels of CNV with a diameter of 1.5 mm or larger was significantly higher than that in feeder vessels of CNV with a diameter smaller than 1.5 mm (P <.05, unpaired t-test). CONCLUSIONS The flow velocity in CNV feeder vessels can be measured with v-ICGA and a computer-based image analysis system. This system would be useful in the evaluation of choroidal circulation.