Imaging the retina by en face optical coherence tomography.
OBJECTIVE
To present the possibilities of a new system that combines optical coherence tomography (OCT) and confocal ophthalmoscopy, producing en face OCT images in patients with retinal diseases.


METHODS
A prototype OCT Ophthalmoscope (OTI, Toronto, Canada) was used to scan patients with retinal conditions. The system uses a super luminescent diode (lambda = 820 nm; Deltalambda = 20 nm) and currently scans at a rate of 2 frames per second. In each frame, the OCT Ophthalmoscope simultaneously produces a transversal OCT scan and a confocal image in the X/Y plane. Both images correspond pixel to pixel.


RESULTS
Between January 2002 and August 2003, >800 patients with various retinal diseases were scanned with the OCT Ophthalmoscope. Illustrative cases with regularly seen macular diseases are presented, such as macular hole and central serous retinopathy.


CONCLUSIONS
Current difficulties as well as future possibilities of this new en face OCT ophthalmoscope are discussed. By presenting normal and pathologic transversal OCT images made by a prototype OCT Ophthalmoscope, we show that it can provide information not available using conventional OCT imaging.
van Velthoven
Mirjam E J
ME
Department of Ophthalmology, Academic Medical Center, PO Box 22660 (Rm. D2-420), 1100 DD Amsterdam, the Netherlands. m.e.vanvelthoven@amc.uva.nl
Verbraak
Frank D
FD
Yannuzzi
Lawrence A
LA
Rosen
Richard B
RB
Podoleanu
Adrian G H
AG
de Smet
Marc D
MD
D006801:Humans; D009887:Ophthalmoscopy / Q000379:methods; D012160:Retina / Q000473:pathology*; D012164:Retinal Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis*; D041623:Tomography, Optical Coherence / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*