Technology integration 'the next step' in retinal disease diagnosis and tracking

PARIS — The diagnosis and follow-up of patients with retinal and choroidal diseases will increasingly involve the combination and integration of different digital imaging modalities, according to a speaker here.

"During the last decade, digital imaging techniques have improved significantly," Sebastian Wolf, MD, said at the Euretina meeting preceding the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons meeting. "Integration is the next step."

"Using the Heidelberg Eye Explorer software we have integrated digital fundus photography, scanning laser angiography, macular pigment imaging, spectral domain OCT and slit lamp photography into a single imaging storage and viewing system," he said.

This system allows storage, retrieval and viewing of all images recorded with the different imaging systems at remote work stations, according to Dr. Wolf.

"Integration of digital fundus imaging into a multimodal imaging system allows quantitative assessment of retinal pathologies, combination of different image modalities and fast access to stored images," he said.