Posterior scleral birefringence measured by triple-input polarization-sensitive imaging as a biomarker of myopia progression
Xinyu Liu, Liqin Jiang, Mengyuan Ke, Ian A. Sigal, Jacqueline Chua, Quan V. Hoang, Audrey Chia, Raymond P. Najjar, Bingyao Tan, J. S. Cheong, Valentina Bellemo, Rachel S. Chong, Michaël J. A. Girard, Marcus Ang, Mengyang Liu, Gerhard Garhöfer, Veluchamy A. Barathi, Seang‐Mei Saw, Martin Villiger, Leopold Schmetterer
Abstract
In myopic eyes, pathological remodelling of collagen in the posterior sclera has mostly been observed ex vivo. Here we report the development of triple-input polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography (OCT) for measuring posterior scleral birefringence. In guinea pigs and humans, the technique offers superior imaging sensitivities and accuracies than dual-input polarization-sensitive OCT. In 8-week-long studies with young guinea pigs, scleral birefringence was positively correlated with spherical equivalent refractive errors and predicted the onset of myopia. In a cross-sectional study involving adult individuals, scleral birefringence was associated with myopia status and negatively correlated with refractive errors. Triple-input polarization-sensitive OCT may help establish posterior scleral birefringence as a non-invasive biomarker for assessing the progression of myopia.