Morphological and Hemodynamic Characteristics of the Ophthalmic Artery in Patients with Internal Carotid Artery Stenosis

BACKGROUND: Internal Carotid Artery Stenosis (ICAS) is an important cause of ischemic cerebrovascular disease and can also compromise ocular perfusion through the Ophthalmic Artery (OA), the first major intracranial branch of the Internal Carotid Artery (ICA). However, little is known about changes in OA morphology and hemodynamics in patients with different degrees of ICAS. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This cross-sectional study included 30 patients with ICAS and 8 healthy controls. One ICA-OA pair per participant was assessed using CTA-based reconstruction and CFD with uniform inlet and outlet conditions. Analyses compared patients with controls and explored differences among ICAS severity subgroups. RESULTS: Patients with ICAS had a smaller initial OA diameter (1.44 ± 0.30 vs. 1.73 ± 0.30 mm; P = 0.022) and ICA-OA angle (86.21 ± 24.92° vs. 113.60 ± 28.05°; P = 0.011) than healthy controls. Under the prescribed CFD conditions, mean OA velocity was also lower in the ICAS group (0.151 ± 0.095 vs. 0.244 ± 0.130 m/s; P = 0.029). DISCUSSION: These unadjusted comparisons describe differences in OA geometry and simulated flow between patients with ICAS and healthy controls. They do not establish an independent or progressive effect of stenosis severity, and the CFD estimates should not be interpreted as patient-specific physiological measurements. CONCLUSION: Patients with ICAS had a smaller initial OA diameter and ICA-OA angle, with lower simulated OA velocity under standardized boundary conditions. Larger studies incorporating patient-specific flow measurements are needed to assess the clinical relevance of these findings.