OCT preferred to fundus cameras

3-D optical coherence tomography may be more sensitive than non-mydriatic colour fundus imaging for detecting retinal abnormalities.

In a presentation at last week's Hawaiian Eye 2012 conference in Maui, Dr Andrew Walsh of Envision Diagnostics claimed that 'an ideal retinal screening system would efficiently screen out those not needing full exams, would be accurate enough to detect minor abnormalities and would be non-invasive for asymptomatic patients'.

The Retinal Disease Screening Study compared non-mydriatic colour fundus imaging with 3D-OCT in screening 284 eyes of 144 asymptomatic subjects over a six-month period. It concluded that image quality of OCT was superior to colour fundus imaging and that OCT was more sensitive to detecting epiretinal, retinal and subretinal lesions. 'These data suggest that OCT may be more sensitive than non-mydriatic imaging for screening for retinal abnormalities in an asymptomatic population,' Walsh said.