Correlation between AI-measured lacquer cracks extension and development of myopic choroidal neovascularization

Objectives To investigate the correlation between the AI-measured area of the lacquer cracks (LC) at their first detection and the occurrence of a choroidal neovascularization (CNV) during the follow up in patients affected by pathologic myopia. Secondary outcome was the detection of a correlation between the time to onset of CNV with both baseline LC area and LC area increase during follow up. Methods Optical coherence tomography (OCT) acquisitions of patients diagnosed with LC were retrospectively analyzed. The study population was divided in a CNV group (showing documented onset of a CNV) and a n-CNV group (no CNV development during follow-up). LC area was measured using MatLab software after application of a customized method for LC segmentation on infrared (IR) enface images. Results Fifty-five (55) patients with a mean follow-up of 5.1 ± 1.4 years were included. LC area at baseline was 2.82 ± 0.54 mm2 and 1.57 ± 0.55 mm2 in CNV (20 patients) and n-CNV group (35 patients) group respectively (p