Abstract
Abstract: :
Purpose:Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is widely used as a diagnostic tool in ophthalmology. Recently a new modality in OCT imaging was introduced using a system combining OCT and confocal ophthalmoscopy. This OCT Ophthalmoscope produces en–face OCT and confocal images (C–scans). These OCT C–scan images are difficult to interpret as they look fragmented due to their high transversal and longitudinal resolution. To better understand the en–face OCT C–scans we correlated histology and OCT images using porcine retina. Methods:A freshly enucleated porcine eye was scanned using a prototype OCT Ophthalmoscope (OTI, Toronto, Canada). The eye was then fixed in Peeters’ solution for 24 hours followed by slow dehydration in graded alcohol solutions (5 days). The pig eye was imbedded in nitrocellulose. Twenty nm longitudinal cuts were made, and the sections were stained with eosin–hematoxylin. Sections were photographed and the digitalized images were aligned to make a three–dimensional reconstruction. Results:The three–dimensional reconstruction was used to make transversal images of the porcine retina. OCT C–scans of the pig eye were evaluated and histological sections taken at the same depth were correlated to the OCT C–scans. Depth could be established using the retinal vessels as reference. Conclusions:The histological sections of the porcine retina correlate well with OCT C–scans taken at the same depth. Correlating the histological sections with the OCT C–scans provides better insight into these C–scans and will make it easier to interpret OCT C–scans taken of normal and pathological human retina.
Keywords: imaging methods (CT, FA, ICG, MRI, OCT, RTA, SLO, ultrasound) • anatomy • retina