Neovascular age-related macular degeneration

Abstract

Since OCT’s invention over 20 years ago (Fercher et al. 1993; Huang et al. 1991; Swanson et al. 1993), it has become important for visualizing static and, nowadays, dynamic retinal tissue properties. The invention of spectral domain OCT (SD-OCT) about 10 years later (de Boer et al. 2003; Wojtkowski et al. 2002) revolutionized ophthalmic imaging once more. Visualization of microstructural changes in the retina and surrounding tissues became possible with scan averaging (Sakamoto et al. 2008), active eye-tracking, raster scanning patterns, enhanced depth imaging (EDI) (Spaide et al. 2008), and 1050-nm light sources for deeper tissue penetration (Unterhuber et al. 2005). These techniques allowed ophthalmologists to assign specific anatomical compartments and retinal layers and accurately compare changes in the course of disease. Neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) is one of the diseases that has benefited most from advancements in OCT technology (Geitzenauer et al. 2011). Consequently, noninvasive SD-OCT imaging has become essential in nAMD diagnosis and follow-up in daily clinical routine.