It has been just reported that experts are able to detect kidney disease with eye scans. Check out the latest reports about this below.
Detecting kidney disease with eye scans
New research suggests that 3D eye scans can reveal important information about kidney health, potentially revolutionizing how kidney disease is monitored.
Experts of the study, published in Nature Communications, believe that this new technology has the potential to support early diagnosis of kidney disease, which is currently difficult with existing screening tests. In fact, current screening tests can only detect kidney disease after at least half of kidney function is lost. Therefore, getting your eyes checked with the new 3D scans may help identify kidney disease at an earlier stage.
The process starts by taking a 3D scan of the retina located at the back of the eye. The retina helps detect light and sends signals to the brain.
Scientists have discovered that the images from the retina can predict kidney health since the structure of the eye and kidney are similar.
By using high magnification 3D scanning, the researchers were able to identify retinal changes that can indicate chronic kidney disease levels in the patient.
The researchers used optical coherence tomography (OCT) to capture 3D images of the retina. OCT technology uses light waves to produce a cross-sectional picture of the retina, separating it into individual layers, similar to how phyllo dough is layered.
The researchers examined images from 204 patients who were at different stages of kidney disease, including those who had previously received transplants.
To compare their findings, they also looked at retinal scans from 86 healthy individuals. The results showed that patients with kidney disease had thinner retinas than the healthy controls.
Specifically, the researchers found that chronic kidney disease caused choroidal thinning, which resulted in thinner retinas as kidney function declined.
However, following a kidney transplant, the retinas regained their thickness and reversed the trend. The researchers also noted that patients with severe forms of the disease experienced rapid thickening of their retinas after a transplant.
