Ten Years of Optical Coherence Tomography in Ophthalmology: Current and Future Use

Abstract

Purpose : Since the introduction of the first commercial device in the mid-1990s, optical coherence tomography (OCT) has become indispensable in the diagnosis and management of ophthalmic disease. This pertains especially to macular pathology, where OCT-derived measures inform treatment patterns and disease prognosis. We analysed the evolution of macular OCT use in a major tertiary ophthalmological reference centre over the last decade.

Methods : A retrospective analysis on the use of macular OCT from June 2007 to June 2017 was conducted at Moorfield Eye Hospital, incorporating a main teaching unit with multiple satellite sites. Data was extracted from the hospital data warehouse. Age, visual acuity at first scan and whether the patient was undergoing anti-VEGF therapy were gathered from the electronic medical record.

Results : A total of 1,675,281 macular OCT scans were performed in the last 10 years (June 2007 to June 2017). The number of scans increased from 23,582 scans per year in 2008 to 339,639 scans in 2016. These scans were taken in 140,263 patients. The average age at first scan was 60 (males) and 63 (females). The mean number of eye scans per patient was 8.75 (males) and 9.3 (females). The average visual acuity count at first scan was 29.5 (males) respectively 26.6 (females) ETDRS letters. The percentage of patients undergoing intravitreal therapy was 8% (males) and 9.3% (females).

Conclusions : OCT is playing a vital and growing role in today’s ophthalmology with a greater than 10 fold increase in the acquisition rate of macular OCT in our unit over 10 years. Rising scan numbers are likely to pose pressure on healthcare professionals as well as providers and significant consideration should be made towards developing optimised pipelines for processing, storing and accessing such data.

This is an abstract that was submitted for the 2018 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Honolulu, Hawaii, April 29 - May 3, 2018.

 

Number of OCT scans performed per year, month, day of the week and time of day at Moorfields Eye Hospital, between June 2007 and June 2017.

 

Patient demograhic of patients having undergone an OCT scan at Moorfields Eye Hospital.