The evaluation of the retrobulbar orbital fat tissue and optic nerve with strain ratio elastography.

AIM The aim of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic performance of strain ratio elastography in the assessment of retrobulbar orbital fat tissue. MATERIALS AND METHODS The retrobulbar fat tissue of 14 eyes in 14 participants was scanned by sonoelastography. All the participants had permanent vision loss secondary to glaucoma in at least one eye. The elasticity scores were determined and the strain ratio was based on the comparison of the average strain measured in the retrobulbar fat tissue around the optic nerve at the same depth. RESULTS The mean strain values for the optic nerve (B) and the retrobulbar fat tissue (A) were 0.78+/-0.61 and 1.43+/-0.99, respectively (p=0.005). The mean strain ratio (B/A) was 0.56+/-0.24. CONCLUSION This preliminary study showed that by providing strain values and ratios of different orbital tissues sonoelastography may have a potential use in the diagnosis and follow-up of orbital inflammatory and infiltrative diseases.