[Cornea Imaging by Optical Coherence Tomography - Historical Aspects and Most Recent Technical Developments]

Since its introduction for retinal imaging in the early 1990s, optical coherence tomography (OCT) has undergone rapid development and has revolutionised ophthalmology. Although OCT was initially used mainly for the examination of the retina, numerous systems for the assessment of the anterior segment of the eye have now been developed. OCT is based on the detection and processing of the light back-scattered and back-reflected by the tissue, and provides completely new possibilities for the ophthalmologist to examine the structures of the anterior eye segment. Depending on the technical implementation, OCT systems for the anterior eye allow precise measurement of individual layers of the cornea and the chamber angle or - in the form of ultrahigh resolution OCT - the detailed visualisation of corneal morphology with near histological resolution. Through further technical developments, especially with respect to an increase in acquisition speeds, OCT has become an essential tool in the differential diagnosis and follow-up of various diseases of the cornea and might also provide new insights into their pathophysiology.