Spectral domain - Optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) as a monitoring tool for alterations in mouse lenses

The eye lens displays a variety of phenotypes in the wake of genetic modifications or environmental influences. Therefore, a high-resolution in vivo imaging method for the lens is desirable. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) has become a powerful imaging tool in ophthalmology, especially for retinal imaging in small animal models such as mice. Here, we demonstrate an optimized approach specifically for anterior eye segment imaging with spectral domain OCT (SD-OCT) on several known murine lens cataract mutants. Scheimpflug and histological section images on the same eye were used in parallel to assess the observed pathologies. With SD-OCT images, we obtained detailed information about the different alterations from the anterior to the posterior pole of the lens. This capability makes OCT a valuable high-resolution imaging modality for the anterior eye segment in mouse.