[Clinical applications and limitations of anterior segment optical coherence tomography]

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is being employed more and more often to facilitate the diagnosis and management of the anterior eye segment diseases. The cross-sectional imaging capability of its higher resolution allows OCT to measure and visualize clear anatomic structures, specifically in anterior chamber biometry, corneal pachymetric mapping, and anterior chamber angle. Fourier-domain OCT technique which achieves higher speed and higher resolution and time-domain OCT technique have driven their further application in ophthalmological practice. In this review, we describe the principles and characteristics of OCT, summarize the recent utility and the limitations of anterior segment OCT in the pathologies and surgical planning of anterior chamber, cornea and surrounding areas, and prospect its future development.