[Improved visualization of foveal pathologies using fourier-domain optical coherence tomography].
OBJECTIVE
To demonstrate the improved visualization of pathological foveal structures by a prototytpe Fourier-domain optical coherence tomography instrument (FD-OCT).


METHODS
We constructed a prototype FD-OCT instrument with an axial resultion of 4.3, m in tissues and an acquisition rate of approximately 18,700 axial scans per second. A raster-scan protocol comprising 256 x 256 axial scans was used in a 2.8 x 2.8 mm area to obtain a 3D-OCT data set. Images of the fovea were obtained in patients with central serous chorioretinopathy(5 eyes of 5 patients), macular hole (6 eyes of 5 patients), pigment epithelial detachment (PED : 4 eyes of 4 patients), and epiretinal membrane (4 eyes of 4 patients).


RESULTS
Normal fovea showed two lines corresponding to a strong backreflection from the external limiting membrane (ELM) and the inner and outer segment junctions (IS/OS). With the exception of the eyes with epiretinal membrane, the IS/ OS line that corresponded to the region where the photoreceptor layer shifted inward disappeared in all eyes. The ELM lines were clearly observed in the same region, except for the one eye with the most steeply protruding PED.


CONCLUSIONS
The use of FD-OCT enables improved visualization of the pathological structural changes in the foveal photoreceptor layer of patients with macular diseases.
Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, Japan. hangai@kuhp.kyoto-u.ac.jp
Masanori
M
Hangai
Yumiko
Y
Ojima
Akiko
A
Yoshida
Yoshiaki
Y
Yasuno
Shuichi
S
Makita
Toyohiko
T
Yatagai
Nagahisa
N
Yoshimura
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005584:Fovea Centralis / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional; D008875:Middle Aged; D010786:Photoreceptor Cells / Q000473:pathology; D012164:Retinal Diseases / Q000473:pathology*; D012374:Rod Cell Outer Segment / Q000473:pathology; D041623:Tomography, Optical Coherence / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods