Diagnosis and management of keratoconus in the paediatric age group: a review of current evidence.

The diagnosis and management of keratoconus in the paediatric age group presents additional challenges to those encountered in adults. The most significant of these, encountered in some young patients, are delayed presentation of unilateral disease, more advanced disease at diagnosis, difficulty in obtaining reliable corneal imaging, faster rates of disease progression and challenges in contact lens management. The stabilisation effect of corneal cross-linking (CXL), more extensively studied in adults with randomised trials and long-term follow-up, has been much less rigorously examined in children and adolescents. The high heterogeneity of published studies in younger patients, particularly in the choice of tomography parameters designated as primary outcome measures and the definitions of progression, indicates that improved standardisation for future studies on CXL will be necessary. There is no evidence that corneal transplant outcomes in young patients are poorer than those in adults. This review provides a current perspective on the optimal diagnosis and treatment of keratoconus in children and adolescents.

Multi-objective optimization of custom compound prism arrays for multiplexed optical imaging.

Compound prism arrays are a powerful, yet underutilized, solution for producing high transmission and customized chromatic dispersion profiles over broad bandwidths, the quality of which is unobtainable with commercially available prisms or diffraction gratings. However, the computational complexity associated with designing these prism arrays presents a barrier to the widespread adoption of their use. Here we introduce customizable prism designer software that facilitates high-speed optimization of compound arrays guided by target specifications for chromatic dispersion linearity and detector geometry. Information theory is utilized such that target parameters can be easily modified through user input to efficiently simulate a broad range of possible prism array designs. We demonstrate the capabilities of the designer software to simulate new prism array designs for multiplexed, hyperspectral microscopy that achieve chromatic dispersion linearity and a 70-90% light transmission over a significant portion of the visible wavelength range (500-820 nm). The designer software is applicable to many optical spectroscopy and spectral microscopy applications-with varying requirements for spectral resolution, light ray deviation, and physical size-that are photon-starved and for which the enhanced transmission of refraction versus diffraction warrants custom optical designs.

Optomap ultrawide field imaging identifies additional retinal abnormalities in patients with diabetic retinopathy.

PURPOSE: To compare diabetic retinopathy (DR) severity grading between Optomap ultrawide field scanning laser ophthalmoscope (UWFSLO) 200° images and an Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS) seven-standard field view. METHODS: Optomap UWFSLO images (total: 266) were retrospectively selected for evidence of DR from a database of eye clinic attendees. The Optomap UWFSLO images were graded for DR severity by two masked assessors. An ETDRS seven-field mask was overlaid on the Optomap UWFSLO images, and the DR grade was assessed for the region inside the mask. Any interassessor discrepancies were adjudicated by a senior retinal specialist. Kappa agreement levels were used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: Fifty images (19%) (P<0.001) were assigned a higher DR level in the Optomap UWFSLO view compared to the ETDRS seven-field view, which resulted in 40 images (15%) (P<0.001) receiving a higher DR severity grade. DR severity grades in the ETDRS seven-field view compared with the Optomap UWFSLO view were identical in 85% (226) of the images and within one severity level in 100% (266) of the images. Agreement between the two views was substantial: unweighted κ was 0.74±0.04 (95% confidence interval: 0.67-0.81) and weighted κ was 0.80±0.03 (95% confidence interval: 0.74-0.86). CONCLUSION: Compared to the ETDRS seven-field view, a significant minority of patients are diagnosed with more severe DR when using the Optomap UWFSLO view. The clinical significance of additional peripheral lesions requires evaluation in future prospective studies using large cohorts.