Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) is a non-invasive images test. OCT uses light waves to take cross-section pictures of your retina. During the OCT testing, you will sit in front of the machine and rest your head on a support to keep it motionless. The equipment will then scan your eye without touching it. Scanning takes about 5-10 minutes.
The OCT is an extremely valuable tool used to help diagnose and manage common retinal eye diseases such as macular degeneration, macular edema (fluid in the retina), and macular hole/epiretinal membranes. We use the initial OCT images to aid in making a definitive diagnosis. The OCT compares these initial images of your eye to a database of images of normal eyes matched to your age. In this way, the first OCT images we take can help point out potential issues if there is something that looks different from normal or average. Subsequent OCT images can then compare how you look now compared to how you looked initially. This can be very valuable in gauging how well treatment is working or if the problem is progressing.
The other common use of the OCT is for monitoring and managing glaucoma. We usually take initial images of the optic nerve, and the OCT can then compare these images to those of age-matched healthy control patients. The OCT will usually be repeated every year so we can follow any changes or progression over time.