Abstract
Purpose :
Many important retinal diseases that would benefit from evaluation with optical coherence tomography (OCT), such as retinal breaks and retinoschisis are frequently located in the peripheral retina. However, clinical OCT imaging is generally confined to capturing the posterior pole. We describe a new method for capturing OCT images of the peripheral retina using a mirrored contact lens.
Methods :
An ex vivo porcine eye was set up for standard 25 gauge 3 port pars plana vitrectomy with the Alcon Accurus system (Fort Worth, TX). Using the Leica Proveo 8 with BIOM widefield viewing system (Wetzlar, Germany) we created a retinal break approximately 1 mm posterior to the ora serrata with the vitreous cutter.
Results :
Transillumination of the break using the endoilluminator confirmed the peripheral location externally at 5 mm posterior to the limbus - Figure 1A. Using the microscope, we directly visualized the break with a Goldmann-type 3 mirror contact lens – Figure 1B. Our research surgical microscope-integrated OCT (MIOCT) system, consisting of a 400 kHz 1050 nm swept source engine, was directed through the Goldmann 66° mirror and captured B-scans of the retina. We were able to identify retinal vessels, normal peripheral retina and the iatrogenic break within the OCT images– Figure 1C.
Conclusions :
Use of a mirrored contact lens to obtain OCT images of the peripheral retina is a promising new technique to evaluate peripheral retinal anatomy. It can be used to identify sites with and without retinal pathology in the periphery. Additionally, this technique has the potential to examine the vitreous base.
This is a 2021 ARVO Annual Meeting abstract.