As an eyecare professional, providing comprehensive exams is tantamount to patient care. By adding tools, such as ultra-widefield (UWF™) retinal imaging with multiple modalities, the ability to detect pathology, which may be missed with single-image modality and/or conventional narrow-field fundus photography, is a game changer.

 

UWF retinal imaging is performed by a specially designed scanning laser ophthalmoscope (SLO) that generates a high-resolution digital image covering 200 degrees (or about 82 percent) of the retina, in a single capture. By comparison, conventional 7 standard field (7SF) ETDRS and fundus camera photographs produce a relatively narrow view (75 degrees or less) of the retina. The SLO simultaneously scans the retina using two low-power lasers (red – 633 nm and green – 532 nm) that enable high-resolution, color imaging of retinal substructures. The resulting UWF digital image – optomap or optomap af – UWF retinal imaging utilizing fundus autofluorescence (FAF), is produced.

 

What is Fundus Autofluorescence?

 

FAF, is an imaging modality used to provide information on the health and function of the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE). Over time, the retinal photoreceptors naturally age and produce a metabolic waste known as lipofuscin. Lipofuscin is the fatty substance found in the retinal pigment epithelium. Excessive amounts can …

A recent study (Friberg, Ophthalmology Retina) evaluated morphologic and angiographic changes in the peripheral retina associated with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) using ultra-widefield (UWF™) retinal imaging.  The purpose was to illuminate the potential value of using UWF optomap^® imaging as a potential tool for detecting peripheral changes that could flag the early warning signs and/or progression of AMD.

 

AMD is a common eye condition that causes damage to the macula, and is a leading cause of vision loss among people age 50 and older. In some people, AMD advances so slowly that vision loss does not occur for a long time. In others, the disease progresses faster and may lead to a loss of vision in one or both eyes. AMD by itself does not lead to complete blindness, with no ability to see. However, the loss of central vision in AMD can interfere with simple everyday activities, such as the ability to see faces, drive, read, write, or do close work, such as cooking or fixing things around the house.¹

As the disease progresses through the asymptomatic phase, it moves from Dry AMD to Wet AMD. In geographic atrophy (dry AMD), there is a gradual breakdown of the light-sensitive …