3. INTRODUCTION
Optical coherence tomography, or OCT is a non-
contact, noninvasive imaging technique used to
obtain high resolution 10 cross sectional images of
the retina and anterior segment.
Reflected light is used instead of sound waves.
Infrared ray of 830 nm with 78D internal lens.
4. HISTORY- OCT
TIMELINE
1991–Concept of OCT in
ophthalmology
• 1993 - First in vivo
retinal OCT images
• 1994-OCT prototype
• 1994-Anterior
segment/Cornea OCT
• 1995-The First Clinical
Retinal OCT
• 1995-The First
Glaucoma OCT
• 2002 – Time domain OCT (e.g. Stratus)
• 10 µm axial resolution
• scan velocity of 400 A-scans/sec
• 2004 – Concept of spectral domain OCT introduced
• 2007 – Spectral domain OCT
• 1-15 µm axial resolution
• up to 52,000 A-scans/sec
5. OCT images obtained by measuring
echo time
intensity of reflected light
Effectively ‘optical ultrasound’
Optical properties of ocular tissues, not a true
histological section
6. Laser output from OCT is low, using a near-infra-red
broadband light source
Measures backscattered or back-reflected light
Source of light: 830nm diode laser
1310 nm : AS-OCT
7.
8. Light from Reference arm &
Sample arm combined
Division of the signal by
wavelength
Analysis of signal
Interference pattern
A-scan created for
each point
B-Scan created
by combining A-scans
9.
10. Digital processing aligns the A-scan to correct for eye
motion.
Digital smoothing techniques further improves the signal
to noise ratio.
The small faint bluish dots in the pre-retinal space is noise
This is an electronic aberration created
by increasing the sensitivity of the instrument to
better visualize low reflective structures
11. Highly reflective structures are shown in bright colures (white and red) .
Those with low reflectivity are represented by dark colours (black and blue).
Intermediate reflectivity is shown Green.
12. Advantages
Non-invasive
Non-contact
Minimal cooperation
needed
Resolution ~ 10 μm
Pick up earliest signs
of disease
Quantitatively monitor
disease/staging
Disadvantages
Best for optically
transparent tissues
Diminished
penetration through
Retinal/subretinal
hemorrhage
Requires pupil
diameter > 4 mm
OCT
13. Advantages
Resolution of ~ 50 μm
Anterior segment of the
eye
Not limited to optically
transparent tissues
i.e. opaque corneas
Disadvantages
Direct contact
Penetration of only
4-5 mm
Image influenced by
Plane of section
Distance to anterior
chamber
Orientation of the probe
Room illumination
Fixation
Accommodative effort
USG
14. Axial resolution
-Wavelength and
-Bandwidth of the light source
Long wavelength - visualisation of choroid,
laminar pores, etc
Transverse resolution
•Based on spacing of A-scans
•Limited by optics of eye and
media opacity
15. Speed of acquisition
Faster acquisition speed in the newer generation OCT
Increased signal-noise ratio
Reduced motion artifacts
Spectral domain OCT :1-15 µm axial resolution &
Up to 52,000 A-scans/sec
18. Spectral-domain OCTs: –
Spectralis (Heidelberg)
Cirrus (Zeiss)
RTVue (Optovue)
Optovue and Cirrus : Anterior eye imaging
capabilities in addition to posterior eye
Spectralis : Require special lens and anterior segment
module for anterior eye imaging
19. New dimension to anterior segment imaging
Cornea
Angle structure
Iris details
Consists of Add-on lens and dedicated software
Compatible with all SPECTRALIS SD-OCT models
INTERPRETATION &
CLINICAL APPLICATIONS
20. AS-OCT using light
of wavelength 1310
nm
Better detail of non-
transparent tissues
increased penetration &
illumination power
High-speed Fourier domain
optical depth scanning
Scan speed of 2000 A
scans/second
Axial resolution – 18 micron
Transverse resolution – 60
micron
Reduced motion artifact
SD-OCT using light of
wavelength 830nm
Axial resolution of 5
micron
Higher resolution allows
better visualization of
cornea and angle and it’s
structures
Provided a scan depth
greater than 6.30nm-
allowing imaging of entire
AC depth
Reduced overlap artifacts
21. A study comparing AS-OCT with Goniscopy
AS-OCT detected more closed angles than gonioscopy
Disparity to attributed
Possible distortion of the anterior segment by contact
gonioscopy
Differences in illumination
23. Diagnosis of glaucoma difficult in early stage
Infrequency of episodes of rise in the IOP
Visual field tests not being sensitive enough
Glaucoma diagnosis traditionally performed by
examining
optic nerve cupping
width of the neuroretinal rim
24. Limitations of Visual Field Tests:
Visual field loss late clinical findings
Detected only after significant loss of retinal nerve
fibers
Difficult to differentiate early glaucoma from normal
25. Ganglion cells outside the paramacular region
Not multilayered
Early losses more readily detected by VF testing
Not central visual field defects
However, losses of ganglion cells possibly occur in
Paramacular region
Outside the paramacular region simultaneously
26. Multiple layers of ganglion cells in the paramacular &
macular region
Loss 5 layers of these
cells
before the visual fields
show
abnormality in central
area
27. 3-dB sensitivity loss at a single location in the
perifoveal area on Humphrey visual field testing
associated with loss of approximately 230 ganglion cells
compared with loss of 10 ganglion cells in the peripheral
posterior pole
retinal thickness losses correlated more strongly with the severity
of optic nerve cupping than with visual field changes
28. ROLE OF OCT IN GLAUCOMA-RECENT
ADVANCES
Any decrease in the overall retinal thickness
an indicator of a loss of the ganglion cell layer and RNFL
OCT detect nerve fiber layer thinning before the onset of
visual changes
Potential of diagnosing glaucoma early
examining the retinal thickness in the macular area
Nerve fiber layer thickness, as measured by OCT, has been
shown to correspond to visual function
29. Circle Scan
Differences betweeen average
thickness in sectors
(along the calculation circle) in each
eye
OCT Scan with automatic
segmentation of RNFL
TSNIT RNFL thickness
compared to normative database
RNFL Thickness in quadrants
& sectors compared to
normative database
30. Posterior Pole Retinal Thickness Map with
Compressed Color Scale in
8x8 Analysis Grid
Mean Thickness
Hemisphere Analysis with
Asymmetry Gray Scale
OCT scan of macular region
31. POSTERIOR POLE ASYMMETRY ANALYSIS
Combines mapping of the posterior pole retinal
thickness with asymmetry analysis
Both eyes
Hemispheres of each eye
32. Posterior Pole Retinal Thickness Map
Retinal thickness over the entire
posterior pole for each eye
Compressed Color Scale
Highlight early retinal loss too small to
be detected with standard color scales
8x8 Analysis Grid Positioned
along the fovea to disc axis Mean retinal
thickness is given for each cell
33. Asymmetry Maps
• Compare relative macular thickness between
corresponding grid
Gray Scale
Gray: thickness less than the corresponding cell
White :thickness the same or greater than the
corresponding cell
Hemisphere (S-I and I-S)Asymmetry
• Compares thickness of cells between hemispheres of
the same eye
Mean Thickness
• Mean retinal thickness for the entire grid area and for
each hemisphere
34.
35. Case 1:
A 53 year old female patient :
glaucoma suspect due to
borderline IOP of 23 mm Hg
Right optic nerve: 0.5 cup with
an infero-temporal RNFL loss
(arrows)
The visual fields normal in both
eyes along with the rest of the
eye examination.
53. A normal pre-retinal profile is black space
Normal vitreous space is translucent
The small, faint bluish dots in the pre retinal space is
noise
This is an electronic alteration created by increasing the
sensitivity of the instrument to better visualize low
reflection structures
68. Patterns of Diabetic macular edema in OCT:
Sponge like thickening of retinal layers:
Mostly confined to the outer retinal layers due to backscattering from
intraretinal fluid accumulation
Large cystoid spaces involving variable depth of the
retna with intervening septae
Initially confined to outer retina mostly
Serous detachment under fovea
Tractiional detachment of fovea
Taut posterior hyaloid membrane
69. Loss of foveal photoreceptors can be assessed with
OCT, as occurs with
full-thickness macular holes
central scarring or fibrosis
Steepening of the foveal contour
epiretinal membranes and
macular pseudoholes or lamellar holes .
Loss or flattening of the foveal contour
impending macular holes
foveal edema or foveal neurosensory detachments.
70. Artifacts in the OCT scan are anomalies in the scan
that are not accurate the image of actual physical
structures, but are rather the result of an external
agent or source
Misidentification of inner retinal layer:
Occurs due to software breakdown, mostly in
eyes with epiretinal membrane vitreomacular
traction or macular hole.
71. Mirror artifact/inverted artifact:
Noted only in spectral domain OCT machines.
Subjects with higher myopic spherical equivalent, less
visual acuity and a longer axial length had a greater
chance of mirror artifacts.
72. Misidentification of outer retinal layers: Commonly occurs in
outer retinal diseases such as central serous retinopathy ,AMD, CME and
geographic atrophy.
73. Out of register artifact:
Out of register artifact is defined as a condition where
the scan is shifted superiorly or inferiorly such that some
of the retinal layers are not fully imaged.
This is generally an artifact, which is operator
dependent and caused due to misalignment of the scan
74. Degraded image:
Degraded images are due to poor image acquisition.
These images were generally associated with non-retinal diagnosis.
Cut edge artifact:
This is an artifact where the edge of the scan is truncated.
Result in abnormality in peripheral part of the scan and do not affect
the central retinal thickness measurements
75. Off center artifact:
Happens due to a fixation error.
Happens mostly with subjects with poor vision,
eccentric fixation or poor attention.
Motion artifact:
Noted due to ocular saccades, change of head position
or due to respiratory movements
76. Blink artifacts:
These are noted when the patient blinks during the
process of scan which are noted as areas of blanks in the
rendered en-face image and macular thinning on
macular map.
77. OCT ARTIFACT AND WHAT TO DO?
OCT artifact Remedial measure
Inner layer misidentification Manual correction
Outer layer misidentification Manual correction
Mirror artifact Retake the scan in the area of
interest
Degraded image Repeat scan after proper
positioning
Out of register scan Repeat the scan after realigning the
area of interest
Cut edge artifact Ignore the first scan
Off center artifact Retake the scan/manually plot the
fovea
Motion artifact Retake the scan
Blink artifact Retake the scan
78. Imaging of deeper tissue structures
Difficult due to :
Pigment from the Retinal Pigment Epithelium (RPE)
Light scattering from the dense vascular structure of the choroid
Enhanced Depth Imaging (EDI) :
New imaging modality on the Spectralis OCT
Provides an enhanced visualisation of the deeper structures, like choroid
Particularly useful for imaging pigmented lesions in the choroid such as
naevi and melanomas
79. Penetration depth of OCT is limited
Limited by media opacities
Dense cataracts
Vitreous hemorrhage
Lead to errors in RNFL and retinal layer segmentation
Each scan much be taken in range and in focus
must be examined for blinks and motion artifacts
Axial motion is corrected with computer
correlation software
transverse motion cannot be corrected
80. Unable to visualise
neovascular network or analyse if a CNV is active
fluorescein angiography still has a significant role
OCT images cannot be interpreted in isolation
must be correlated with red-free OCT fundus image and
photography/ophthalmoscopy
Aligning the scanning circle around the optic disc
may be difficult in patients with abnormal disc
contours
81. Some major limitations in the normative databases
Long term data on monitoring disease progression
with SD OCT unknown
Depends on operator skill
82. ADVANTAGES OF OCT
Best axial resolution available so far
Scans various ocular structures
Tissue sections comparable to histopathology
sections
Easy to operate
Short scanning time
The interference is measured by a photodetector and processed into a signal. A 2D image is built as the light source moves along the retina, which resembles a histology section
Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR)
: a quality measure of desired signal level divided by undesired noise
Acquition: Something acquired or gained.
In TD-OCT a mirror in the reference arm of the interferometer is moved to match the delay in various layers of sample
The resulting interference signal is processed to produce the axial scan waveform
The reference mirror must move one cycle for each axial scan. The need for mechanical movement limits the speed of image acquisition.
Further more , at each movement the detection system only collects signal from a narrow range of depth in the sample. This serial axial scanning is inefficient
In FD-OCT, the reference mirror is kept stationary. The spectral pattern of the interference between the sample and reference reflections is measured
The spectral interferogram is fourior transformed to provide an axial scan. The absence of moving parts allow the image to be acquired very rapidly
Furthermore, reflections from all layers in the sample are detected simultaneously. This parallel axial scan is much more efficient, resulting in both greater speed and higher signal to- noise ratio.
Vitreous anterior to retina is non reflective and is seen as a dark space.
Posterior boundary of retina is also seen as a red layer representing highly refractive retinal pigment epithelium and choriocapillaries.
Outer segment of retinal photoreceptors, being minimally reflective are represented by a dark layer just anterior to RPE- choriocapillaries complex.
Vitreo-retinal interface is well defined due to contrast between the non reflective vitreous and the backscattering retina.
Anterior boundary of retina formed by highly refractive RNFL is seen as a red layer due to bright backscattering.
Alterations in the thickness of the retinal nerve fiber layer may be a powerful indicator of the onset of neurodegenerative diseases such as glaucoma.
The NFL appears in the OCT images as a highly backscattering layer in the superficial retina and exhibits increased reflectivity compared to the deeper retinal layers.
The observation of depressions from both the anterior and posterior margins of the NFL is a helpful indicator of actual thinning.
Neurosensory detachments appear as a shallow elevation of the retina, with an optically clear space between the retina and RPE
The backscattering from the normally minimally reflective photoreceptors is increased, resulting in a well-defined fluid-retina boundary.
Serous detachments of the pigment epithelium have a distinctly different appearance . The reflective band corresponding to the RPE is focally elevated over an optically clear space.
the detached RPE is more highly reflective than normal, perhaps due to a refractive index difference between serous fluid and the choriocapillaris, or due to decompensation and morphological changes in the RPE cells themselves
Age related macular degeneration :OCT because of its high resolution capacity is able to image:
Morphological changes in the non exudative ARMD
Sub-retinal fluid, intraretinal thickening and sometimes, choroidal neovascularization in exudative ARMD
This is especially helpful when vascularization of choroidal neovascularization is obscured on fluorescein angiography by a thin layer of fluid or hemorrhage
Epi-retinal membrane:Thin, transparent membrane that are seen on the inner retinal surface in the macular area
Epi-retinal membrane :classification
1. clearly separable where a clear space is visible between the epiretinal membrane and inner retinal surface
2. globally adherent where no area of separation can be seen easily between the epi-retinal membrane and inner retinal surface
Vitreomacular traction may result in flattening or protrusion of the fovea
Epi-retinal membrane: Highly reflective diaphanous membrane over the surface of retina
Full thickness macular hole show a breach in all the layer of retinal while lamellar macular hole shows only partial loss of tissue with steep foveal contour
OCT allows confirmation of diagnosis pf macular hole and differentiates it from the clinically simulating conditions such as lamellar hole, foveal pseudo cyst.
Traction on the result in the formation of stage 1 macular hole where there is no visible hole only foveal detachment
Continuous traction result in the formation of stage 2 hole with dehiscence of neural retina in a perifoveal location