April 30, 2026 – MERIT, a leading global provider of clinical and preclinical trial endpoint and technology services, will present a poster at ARVO 2026. The poster reports strong agreement between manual and semi‑automated OCT approaches for identifying incomplete retinal pigment epithelium and outer retinal atrophy (iRORA), a high‑risk precursor to geographic atrophy in age‑related macular degeneration (AMD).
In a post hoc analysis of 37 eyes with intermediate AMD or geographic atrophy, investigators compared manual grading using en face ORC™ images with a machine‑learning–assisted Layer Loss Analysis (LLA) method that co‑localizes ellipsoid zone and RPE loss. The two approaches demonstrated 88.6% agreement by lesion, with disagreements largely limited to borderline size thresholds.
“The ability to reliably identify and localize iRORA lesions is critical for understanding disease progression and for evaluating emerging therapies in Dry AMD,” said Ronald P. Danis, M.D., co-author and Chief Scientific Officer at MERIT. “Our results indicate that LLA appears to be an efficient, semi-automated approach for identifying iRORA and should be evaluated in a larger longitudinal data set.”
“Dry AMD affects millions of older adults worldwide and, in advanced stages, can profoundly diminish patients’ quality of life. We’re proud to work with our collaborators to support new treatments for this condition,” said Dr. David Bingaman, Chief Development Officer, Ophthalmology of MERIT.
About the Presentation
Title: iRORA in intermediate and advanced atrophic AMD: detection and assessment by 2 OCT-based methods
Author(s): Ronald P. Danis, MD, FARVO; Carl Regillo, MD, FACS, FASRS; Alexander J. Shaer; Li Fan, OCT-C, MHA; Jonathan Loi, PhD; Yijun Huang, PhD; David Bingaman, DVM, PhD, D. ACVO
Conference: ARVO 2026 Annual Meeting
Location: Colorado Convention Center, Denver, CO
Date and Time: May 6, 2026, from 10:15 AM to 12:00 PM
About MERIT
MERIT is an innovative, global clinical and preclinical trial endpoint and technology services provider working in a variety of therapeutic areas, including ophthalmology, respiratory, oncology, and cardiology. We partner with pharmaceutical and biotech sponsors as well as CROs to deliver reliable endpoint services in multi-regional trials. Together, our work advances and accelerates the improvement of therapeutic options for patients worldwide. MERIT has offices in Madison, WI, Shanghai, China, Toronto, Canada, and Sydney, Australia.