title: Three-dimensional optic nerve head images using optical coherence tomography with a broad bandwidth, femtosecond, and mode-locked laser.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to demonstrate the fine laminar structure of the optic nerve head (ONH), in vivo, using a broad wavelength, ultra-high resolution, and optically coherent tomography (OCT) system.
  
  
  METHODS
  This high-resolution OCT system, based on a 200 nm bandwidth spectrometer and an 8 femtosecond ultra-short, mode-locked, coherent laser light source, enabled in vivo cross-sectional ONH imaging with 2.0 μm axial resolution. A total of 300 optic disc B-scans, which consisted of 300 × 2048 pixels, were obtained in 10 μm steps. Three-dimensional images were rendered from these images to obtain n face images of the optic disc. Fundus photography, scanning laser ophthalmoscopy (SLO), and standard OCT were also performed for all subjects.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Thirty-six eyes of normal subjects and ten eyes of glaucoma patients with mean age of 40.0 ± 10.0 years were enrolled in this study. Sequential en face images, from the ONH surface to deeper layers, were reconstructed in 2.0 μm steps. Observation of the images indicated variations in the shape and arrangement of the lamina pores at different depths. Clear lamina pores were identified by this technique in 44 eyes, compared with the fundus camera (identified in six eyes), SLO (identified in 14 eyes), and standard OCT (identified in 24 eyes) (all comparisons, p < 0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The fine structure of the ONH could be resolved in vivo using our OCT, providing improved imaging that can be used in research and clinical applications for a better characterization of the anatomical and pathological features associated with glaucoma.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Saitama Medical University, 38 Morohongo Moroyama-machi, Iruma, Saitama, 350-0495, Japan, shoojii@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Takuhei
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Shoji
authors.forename: Hiroto
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kuroda
authors.forename: Masayuki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.forename: Motoyoshi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Baba
authors.forename: Makoto
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Araie
authors.forename: Shin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yoneya
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D005901:Glaucoma / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional; D007429:Intraocular Pressure / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009898:Optic Disk / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000473:pathology*; D009901:Optic Nerve Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis*; D041623:Tomography, Optical Coherence / Q000295:instrumentation*; D014794:Visual Fields / Q000502:physiology; D055815:Young Adult