The fundus photo has met its match: optical coherence tomography and adaptive optics ophthalmoscopy are here to stay

Abstract PurposeOver the past 25 years, optical coherence tomography (OCT) and adaptive optics (AO) ophthalmoscopy have revolutionised our ability to non‐invasively observe the living retina. The purpose of this review is to highlight the techniques and human clinical applications of recent advances in OCT and adaptive optics scanning laser/light ophthalmoscopy (AOSLO) ophthalmic imaging. Recent findingsOptical coherence tomography retinal and optic nerve head (ONH) imaging technology allows high resolution in the axial direction resulting in cross‐sectional visualisation of retinal and ONH lamination. Complementary AO ophthalmoscopy gives high resolution in the transverse direction resulting in en face visualisation of retinal cell mosaics. Innovative detection schemes applied to OCT and AOSLO technologies (such as spectral domain OCT, OCT angiography, confocal and non‐confocal AOSLO, fluorescence, and AO‐OCT) have enabled high contrast between retinal and ONH structures in three dimensions and have allowed in vivo retinal imaging to approach that of histological quality. In addition, both OCT and AOSLO have shown the capability to detect retinal reflectance changes in response to visual stimuli, paving the way for future studies to investigate objective biomarkers of visual function at the cellular level. Increasingly, these imaging techniques are being applied to clinical studies of the normal and diseased visual system. SummaryOptical coherence tomography and AO...
Source: Ophthalmic and Physiological Optics - Category: Opthalmology Authors: Tags: Invited Review Source Type: research