Event-based progression detection strategies using scanning laser polarimetry images of the human retina

Monitoring glaucoma patients and ensuring optimal treatment requires accurate and precise detection of progression. Many glaucomatous progression detection strategies may be formulated for Scanning Laser Polarimetry (SLP) data of the local nerve fiber thickness. In this paper, several strategies, all based on repeated GDx VCC SLP measurements, are tested to identify the optimal one for clinical use. The parameters of the methods were adapted to yield a set specificity of 97.5% on real image series. For a fixed sensitivity of 90%, the minimally detectable loss was subsequently determined for both localized and diffuse loss. Due to the large size of the required data set, a previously described simulation method was used for assessing the minimally detectable loss. The optimal strategy was identified and was based on two baseline visits and two follow-up visits, requiring two-out-of-four positive tests. Its associated minimally detectable loss was 5-12 μm, depending on the reproducibility of the measurements.