Academic Journal
Depth-dependent corneal backscatter characteristics in different stages of keratoconus and a novel composite backscatter index for early detection.
| Τίτλος: | Depth-dependent corneal backscatter characteristics in different stages of keratoconus and a novel composite backscatter index for early detection. |
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| Συγγραφείς: | Tian H; Clinical College of Ophthalmology, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China., Xu C; Hengqin Hospital, First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China., Huo Y; School of Medicine, Nankai University, Tianjin, China., Zhang X; School of Medicine, Nankai University, Tianjin, China., Gao W; Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China., Deng F; Clinical College of Ophthalmology, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China., Wang Y; Clinical College of Ophthalmology, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China; Nankai University Eye Institute, Nankai University Affiliated Eye Hospital, Nankai University, Tianjin, China; Tianjin Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Tianjin Eye Institute, Tianjin Eye Hospital, Tianjin, China. Electronic address: wangyan7143@vip.sina.com. |
| Πηγή: | Photodiagnosis and photodynamic therapy [Photodiagnosis Photodyn Ther] 2026 Oct; Vol. 61, pp. 105658. Date of Electronic Publication: 2026 Sep 19. |
| Τύπος έκδοσης: | Journal Article; Comparative Study |
| Γλώσσα: | English |
| Στοιχεία περιοδικού: | Publisher: Elsevier Country of Publication: Netherlands NLM ID: 101226123 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1873-1597 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 15721000 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Photodiagnosis Photodyn Ther Subsets: MEDLINE |
| Imprint Name(s): | Original Publication: Amsterdam ; Boston : Elsevier, c2004- |
| Ιατρικοί όροι (MeSH): | Keratoconus*/diagnosis , Keratoconus*/diagnostic imaging , Cornea*/diagnostic imaging, Corneal Topography/methods ; Humans ; Retrospective Studies ; Female ; Male ; Scattering, Radiation ; Early Diagnosis ; Adult ; ROC Curve ; Young Adult |
| Περίληψη: | Purpose: To characterise the depth-dependent distribution of corneal backscatter across keratoconus stages and controls, and to develop a composite Corneal Backscatter Index (CBSI) integrating multi-depth features for early detection of forme fruste keratoconus (FFKC) METHODS: In this retrospective comparative study, 213 eyes of 213 participants were enrolled: 65 FFKC, 47 clinical keratoconus (CK), 30 severe keratoconus (SK), and 71 healthy controls. On Scheimpflug tomography images, the cornea at the thinnest point was divided into 50 layers, and backscatter greyscale values were extracted at 2% depth intervals. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis assessed the discriminative ability of each layer for FFKC. Forward stepwise logistic regression then combined layer backscatter with established tomographic parameters, including the Belin/Ambrósio deviation value (BAD-D), to derive the CBSI as a probability score. Results: Corneal backscatter alterations depended on depth and varied with keratoconus severity. Compared with controls, FFKC showed significantly increased backscatter within the 0-8% and 24-48% depth ranges (P < 0.05). Relative to FFKC, CK showed further increases at the anterior 12% depth and posterior cornea (52-82%), with a decrease at 94-100%. SK demonstrated higher backscatter than CK throughout the 12-100% range. For FFKC identification, the CBSI, combining CBS Conclusions: Corneal backscatter varied significantly with both depth and keratoconus severity. In FFKC, depth‑dependent backscatter alterations were detectable before morphologic abnormalities, providing an early diagnostic signal. The CBSI improved FFKC diagnostic performance over morphologic parameters alone. (Copyright © 2026 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.) |
| Competing Interests: | Declaration of competing interest No relevant conflicting relationship exists for any author. All authors attest that they meet the current ICMJE criteria for authorship. |
| Contributed Indexing: | Keywords: Backscatter; Cornea; Forme fruste keratoconus; Scheimpflug imaging |
| Entry Date(s): | Date Created: 20260919 Date Completed: 20261003 Latest Revision: 20261003 |
| Update Code: | 20261004 |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.pdpdt.2026.105658 |
| PMID: | 42763029 |
| Βάση Δεδομένων: | MEDLINE |
| ISSN: | 1873-1597 |
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| DOI: | 10.1016/j.pdpdt.2026.105658 |