Andrea Zen

Dr. Andrea Zen

orcid

Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

3Years (2024-Present)

(Calculated once Scilit publication data is synced: current year − year of first publication + 1)

Representative Publications

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21 November 2024 in Diagnostics
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
PDF file
FRFlavio Ragni
Flavio Ragni
SBStefano Bovo
Stefano Bovo
AZAndrea Zen
Andrea Zen
DSDiego Sona
Diego Sona
KNKatia De Nadai
Katia De Nadai
Giuseppe JurmanGiuseppe Jurman
Giuseppe Jurman
Background/Objectives: Neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) is a retinal disorder leading to irreversible central vision loss. The pro-re-nata (PRN) treatment for nAMD involves frequent intravitreal injections of anti-VEGF medications, placing a burden on patients and healthcare systems. Predicting injections needs at each monitoring session could optimize treatment outcomes and reduce unnecessary interventions. Methods: To achieve these aims, machine learning (ML) models were evaluated using different combinations of clinical variables, including retinal thickness and volume, best-corrected visual acuity, and features derived from macular optical coherence tomography (OCT). A “Leave Some Subjects Out” (LSSO) nested cross-validation approach ensured robust evaluation. Moreover, the SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) analysis was employed to quantify the contribution of each feature to model predictions. Results: Results demonstrated that models incorporating both structural and functional features achieved high classification accuracy in predicting injection necessity (AUC = 0.747 ± 0.046, MCC = 0.541 ± 0.073). Moreover, the explainability analysis identified as key predictors both subretinal and intraretinal fluid, alongside central retinal thickness. Conclusions: These findings suggest that session-by-session prediction of injection needs in nAMD patients is feasible, even without processing the entire OCT image. The proposed ML framework has the potential to be integrated into routine clinical workflows, thereby optimizing nAMD therapeutic management.