Hyperreflective dots in Central Fovea visualized by visible-light Optical Coherence Tomography Fibergraphy

Abstract

Purpose : Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a non-invasive imaging technique widely used in ophthalmology to visualize retinal layers and structures. The current clinical technology in OCT field is the near-infrared (NIR) OCT system, which often fails to achieve high axial resolution of anatomical features, limiting the visualization and quantification of subtle changes within retinal layers in disease condition. The recently developed visible light-OCT (vis-OCT) provides a higher resolution compared to the NIR-OCT, which can improve the diagnosis and management of diseases. To directly compare the performance of NIR-OCT and vis-OCT, we acquired vis-OCT images from the same patient immediately following NIR-OCT imaging.

Methods : Vis-OCT volumes were used to generate fibergrams (vis-OCTF) for the first time in human patients, enabling en face visualization of the retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) and the central fovea. Vis-OCTF en face images consist of a 3 × 3 mm with 1.3-µm axial resolution, compared to the 9 × 9 mm NIR-OCT en face with 7.0-µm axial resolution.

Results : Side-by-side comparison revealed that vis-OCT dataset offered substantially improved image quality versus NIR-OCT dataset, which makes it possible to quantify the number of hyperreflective dots in the central fovea.

Conclusions : The bright spots in central fovea are hypothesized to be linked to several age-related and pathological conditions. In conclusion, the high-resolution images generated by vis-OCT enable precise characterization of the changes in the RNFL and the central fovea.

This abstract was presented at the 2024 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Seattle, WA, May 5-9, 2024.