Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 23, 2026
In Vivo Multimodal Imaging and Analysis of Mouse Laser-Induced Choroidal Neovascularization Model
Published on: January 21, 2018
[Three-dimensional imaging of photodynamic effects and spontaneous course in choroidal neovascularization]
W Ahlswede1, S Michels, R Birngruber
1Augenklinik, Universitätsklinikum Schleswig-Holstein, Lübeck.
Purpose:
Photodynamic therapy (PDT) induces occlusive and regenerative effects in choroidal neovascularization (CNV) and physiological choroid. The process of vascular alteration is documented quantitatively and qualitatively by three-dimensional angiography.
Method:
In a prospective, randomized trial 30 patients with subfoveal CNV due to age-related macular degeneration (AMD) were treated with PDT or placebo. Fluorescence series with 32 tomographic images over a 4-mm depth were analyzed topographically and reproduced in a three-dimensional display.
Results:
At initial presentation CNV lesions were documented as a well-defined prominence in all patients. In the verteporfin group CNV height continuously decreased with each interval. In the placebo group CNV slightly increased in height during the first 6 months and remained stable at about 90% of the initial prominence at long-term follow-up. After 12 months 44% of the patients in the verteporfin group developed an additional choroidal defect.
Conclusion:
Three-dimensional angiography offers a reliable documentation of CNV progression and regression during PDT. A decrease in CNV size is associated with an increase in choroidal perfusion defects.
