Retinopathy of

Prematurity (ROP)

Melissa Andrews
BME 281 Sec 2
 What is ROP?
 Affects the retinal blood
vessels of premature
babies

 Retina forms early in

development but blood
supply does not

 Affects 500 to 700 babies

in U.S each year
o High Risk
 The more premature the o <32 weeks
o <3 pounds
higher the risk
 Exams
 High-risk infants should have retinal exams

 Depending on gestational age first exam usually 4 - 9 weeks after

birth

 Babies 27 weeks or later have their exam at 4 weeks of age

 Follow-up exams
Optical Coherence Tomography
(OCT)

 Noninvasive

 Usually forms 2-D images

 3-D pictures can be formed

 Spectral Domain Optical
Coherence Tomography
(SD OCT)

 Duke University Medical

Center
 Hand held
 Narrow beam of
broadband light sources
 3-D scanned image
 40 times faster than
o Baby can remain in
previous OCT
incubator during procedure
 Faster = less time spent
to diagnosis and faster
recognition of ROP
 Treatments

 Treatment should start

within 72 hours of the eye
exam
 “Plus disease” babies need
immediate treatment
 Cryotherapy (freezing)
 Laser therapy  Plus Disease

 Surgery is needed if the

retina detaches
 References

New Device To Detect Blindness In Babies | Biomedical Engineering News." Biomedical Engineering
& Biotechnology News & Events. 16 Aug. 2010. Web. 03 Oct. 2011.
<http://www.biomedicalblog.com/new-device-to-detect-blindness-in-babies/22000/>.
Retinopathy of Prematurity: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia." National Library of Medicine -
National Institutes of Health. 4 May 2011. Web. 03 Oct. 2011.
<http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/001618.htm>
« Pediatric Ophthalmology Video (Ophthobook.com)." « The Free Online Ophthalmology Book!
(Ophthobook.com). Web. 03 Oct. 2011. <http://www.ophthobook.com/videos/pediatric-
ophthalmology-video>.
Retinopathy of Prematurity - Symptoms, Diagnosis, Treatment of Retinopathy of Prematurity - NY
Times Health Information." Health News - The New York Times. Web. 03 Oct. 2011.
<http://health.nytimes.com/health/guides/disease/retinopathy-of-prematurity/overview.html>.
Huang, D., E. Swanson, C. Lin, J. Schuman, W. Stinson, W. Chang, M. Hee, T. Flotte, K. Gregory,
C. Puliafito, and Al. Et. "Optical Coherence Tomography." Science254.5035 (1991): 1178-181. Print.
"Retinopathy of Prematurity." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 5 Oct. 2011.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retinopathy_of_prematurity>.
"ROP: Retinopathy of Prematurity Treatment." Get EyeSmart - Eye Health Information for the
Public from the American Academy of Ophthalmology. Web. 6 Oct. 2011.
<http://www.geteyesmart.org/eyesmart/diseases/retinopathy-prematurity-treatment.cfm>.
All Pictures are from Google imagines –for the purpose of education in this presentation