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Findings on retinal topography and thickness mapping in age-related macular degeneration
J P Gieser1, M Mori, N P Blair
1Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, UIC Eye Center, University of Illinois at Chicago, 60612, USA.
Purpose:
To report alterations in the retinal topography and thickness in typical cases of age-related macular degeneration (ARMD).
Methods:
An optical imaging system was applied to patients with ARMD with alterations in the retinal structures. The system generates a series of 20 optical section images that encompass a 2 mm x 2 mm retinal area. The optical sections are digitized and analyzed to provide topographic maps of the vitreo-retinal and chorio-retinal surfaces and the retinal thickness.
Results:
Retinal topography and thickness mapping in a normal eye corresponded to normal anatomy. Topographic mapping in a patient with confluent drusen indicated elevation of the vitreo-retinal surface. Retinal topography in a patient with retinal pigment epithelium detachment displayed localized elevation of the chorio-retinal surface. The thickness map in a patient with geographic atrophy of the retinal pigment epithelium revealed retinal thinning. In the patients with choroidal neovascularization, the vitreoretinal and chorio-retinal surfaces were elevated. The chorio-retinal surface map in a patient with evolving disciform scar displayed topographic variations corresponding to the fibrovascular tissue underlying the serous detachment.
Conclusion:
Retinal topography and thickness mapping is useful for visualization and evaluation of pathologic alterations in retinal structures due to ARMD.
