Optical coherence tomography is an imaging technique that allows cross-sectional scans of the retina.
This technique utilizes light that is directed onto the tissue and reflects to form a pattern, similar to the process of ultrasound. The images obtained from OCT actually look like specimens of tissue that have been surgically cut and photographed.
This technique has allowed retina specialists to manage age-related macular degeneration in a noninvasive manner with greater ability to interpret treatment responses. Recent advances in OCT have further added to clinicians’ abilities to follow treatment.
OCT has become so important to retina specialists that it is by far the most common diagnostic test ordered in the ongoing management of wet macular degeneration. While fluorescein angiography is critical for the initial diagnosis and at other points throughout treatment, OCT is the most common test utilized.