[Examination of the cornea using optical coherence tomography].
BACKGROUND
This study evaluated the clinical use of optical coherence tomography (OCT) for two-dimensional representation of the cornea.


METHODS
Noncontact slitlamp-adapted OCT was used in selected cases to evaluate pathologically altered corneas and to measure the central corneal thickness and curvature.


RESULTS
OCT provided correlation between differences in reflection and morphological changes. Scar tissue resulted in hyper-reflective light scattering, whereas cystic lesions were hyporeflective. Precise biomorphometry also allowed representation of intrastromal and retrocorneal changes. Central corneal thickness measured by OCT yielded reproducible values and corneal curvature could be calculated from the optical signals of the corneal surface.


CONCLUSIONS
OCT provides high-resolution representation of the cornea and exact evaluation of its morphology, thickness, and curvature. Due to the noncontact, simple, and rapid examination using the slitlamp the corneal OCT method is a promising additional diagnostic modality.
Wirbelauer
C
C
Abteilung für Augenheilkunde, Krankenhaus Neukölln, Rudower Strasse 48, 12351 Berlin.
Scholz
C
C
Hoerauf
H
H
Bastian
G O
GO
Engelhardt
R
R
Birngruber
R
R
Laqua
H
H
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002921:Cicatrix / Q000175:diagnosis; D003315:Cornea / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D003316:Corneal Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis*; D019781:Corneal Topography; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D003941:Diagnostic Techniques, Ophthalmological; D005260:Female; D005901:Glaucoma / Q000151:congenital; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D014054:Tomography / Q000379:methods*