Abstract
The Retinal Vessel Analyser (RVA) is a commercially available ophthalmoscopic instrument capable of acquiring vessel diameter fluctuations in real time and in high temporal resolution.Visual stimulation by means of flickering light is a unique exploration tool of neurovascular
coupling in the human retina. Vessel reactivity as mediated by local vascular endothelial vasodilators and vasoconstrictors can be assessed non-invasively, in vivo. In brief, the work in
this thesis
• deals with interobserver and intraobserver reproducibility of the flicker responses in healthy volunteers
• explains the superiority of individually analysed reactivity parameters over vendorgenerated
output
• links in static retinal measures with dynamic ones
• highlights practical limitations in the use of the RVA that may undermine its clinical
usefulness
• provides recommendations for standardising measurements in terms of vessel location
and vessel segment length and
• presents three case reports of essential hypertensives in a -year follow-up.
Strict standardisation of measurement procedures is a necessity when utilising the RVA system.
Agreement between research groups on implemented protocols needs to be met, before it could
be considered a clinically useful tool in detecting or predicting microvascular dysfunction.
Date of Award | 12 Mar 2014 |
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Original language | English |
Awarding Institution |
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Supervisor | Rebekka Heitmar (Supervisor) |
Keywords
- Cardiovascular Disease
- Autoregulation
- Blood Pressure
- Endothelial Function