{
  "abstract": "Multimodal retinal imaging enables repeated, noninvasive assessment of vascular, neuroretinal, choroidal, perfusion, oxygenation, and flow-related phenotypes, positioning the retina as a platform for systemic microvascular phenotyping. Chronic kidney disease (CKD) provides an informative translational reference model because estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio (UACR) offer standardized clinical anchors across disease severity and progression. This critical narrative review, informed by structured searches of PubMed/MEDLINE, Embase, and Web of Science, evaluates retinal phenotypes from biological association and longitudinal prediction to incremental clinical value, external validation, and implementation. Fundus photography, ultra-widefield imaging, optical coherence tomography (OCT), OCT angiography (OCTA), and functional retinal imaging provide complementary information, but retinal signals are not organ-specific. Artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled models may support automated phenotyping and opportunistic risk enrichment, but credible translation requires appropriate comparators, external validation, calibration, subgroup assessment, decision-analytic utility, and workflow evaluation. Retinal imaging should therefore be viewed as an adjunctive platform rather than a stand-alone CKD diagnostic test, with its near-term role being to identify individuals warranting confirmatory kidney assessment when retinal images are already available and recent eGFR/UACR data are absent.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Department of Ophthalmology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, No. 37 Guoxue Alley, Wuhou District, Chengdu 610041, China",
    "Department of Eye and Vision Sciences, University of Liverpool, William Henry Duncan Building, 6 West Derby Street, Liverpool L7 8TX, UK",
    "Department of Radiology, Huaxi MR Research Center (HMRRC), Institute of Radiology and Medical Imaging, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, China",
    "Department of Primary Care and Mental Health, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L7 8TX, UK",
    "Institute of Life Course & Medical Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L7 8TX, UK"
  ],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 8,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Qiumei Gu",
      "orcid": "0009-0000-1940-6121"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Zhengju Chen"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Jiacen Wan",
      "orcid": "0009-0006-7003-5817"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Zhuangzhi Gao"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4
      ],
      "name": "Hongyi Qin"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Ziyan He"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Yalin Zheng",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-7873-0922"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Fang Lu"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/4d6vhy0wgnh5g.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.3390/jcm15218657",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "4d6vhy0wgnh5g",
  "issns": [
    "2077-0383"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/15/21/8657",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [],
  "openalex": null,
  "pdf_url": null,
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-11-06",
  "publisher": "MDPI AG",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/4d6vhy0wgnh5g.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-07T00:21:23Z",
      "native_id": "10.3390/jcm15218657",
      "source": "crossref",
      "url": "https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/15/21/8657"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "medicine",
      "origin": "journal-openalex:F27",
      "subfield": "general"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Multimodal Retinal Imaging for Systemic Microvascular Phenotyping: Chronic Kidney Disease as a Translational Reference Model",
  "title_text": "Multimodal Retinal Imaging for Systemic Microvascular Phenotyping: Chronic Kidney Disease as a Translational Reference Model",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-08T00:23:02Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/4d6vhy0wgnh5g",
  "venue": "Journal of Clinical Medicine",
  "versions": []
}