Imaging/Diagnostics News

At Retina 2016, SriniVas Sadda, MD, discusses the benefits of quantitative OCT angiography along with limitations of this technology.

KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. — At the Kiawah Eye meeting here, Justin Roman, MD, discusses a new method of measuring the variability of the epithelium using anterior segment SD-OCT to help in early diagnosis of keratoconus.

NEW ORLEANS — At the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery meeting, Farrell C. “Toby” Tyson, MD, discusses the Eidon scanner from CenterVue, a true color confocal scanner with the capability to scan the back of the eye through an undilated pupil with a 60° field.

Visunex Medical Systems has received CE mark for the PanoCam LT wide-field imaging system, according to a press release.

With FDA clearance of three intraoperative OCT systems over the past 2 years, the technology is rapidly moving from potential to practice.

With FDA clearance of three intraoperative OCT systems over the past 2 years, the technology is rapidly moving from potential to practice.

A critical element in any successful surgical procedure is the ability to visualize the tissue being manipulated surgically. I have often said to my fellows that while steady hands are definitely an asset, ophthalmic surgery is a “visual sport,” and seeing clearly what is being operated upon is critical to a successful outcome. During my residency training, many surgeons were still using loupes for intracapsular cataract extraction while others were pioneering the use of the operating microscope. The operating microscope changed the way we see in ophthalmic surgery, and for 40 years we have benefited from ever better optics and illumination.

Nearly 30.26 million Americans have type 1 or type 2 diabetes, and of those, 4.2 million adults aged 40 and older, or 29%, have diabetic retinopathy. An estimated 11% of all diabetic patients have diabetic macular edema, and 1% to 3% of those have vision loss. These alarming statistics have propelled research and fueled demand for better treatment options. As a result, we have experienced a significant paradigm shift away from laser therapy as the first line of treatment and moved toward the realm of pharmacological therapy, including intravitreal anti-VEGF and steroidal treatments.

OCT jumped into our lives in 1991 when Huang and colleagues published about a “noninvasive cross-sectional imaging technology in biological systems.” Since then, major advancements have been made. Spectral-domain and swept-source OCT platforms brought faster scans and higher resolution. Also, OCT technology has been proposed in conjunction with adaptive optics, which may allow further resolution, up to a single photoreceptor cell. Polarized light combined with high-resolution OCT scanning may improve characterization of the retinal pigment epithelium. No doubt, therefore, that with the introduction of OCT, assessment of fundus structure has dramatically increased.

Over the past 20 years, OCT has developed rapidly as a noninvasive method of retinal imaging. OCT angiography, or OCTA, is the latest evolution of this technology, allowing extreme close-up imaging of the retinal vasculature for assessing retinal vascular diseases, and holds potential for guiding treatment decisions and monitoring patient responses to therapy.