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Updated: Jun 15, 2025
Author Spotlight: Ex Vivo OCT-Based Multimodal Imaging of Human Donor Eyes for Research into Age-Related Macular Degeneration
Published on: May 26, 2023
High-Resolution, Motion-Corrected, Volume-Fused OCT for Investigating Longitudinal Changes in Subretinal Drusenoid
Jungeun Won1, Antonio Yaghy2, Stefan B Ploner3
1Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, and Research Laboratory of Electronics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA.
High-resolution optical coherence tomography (OCT) with motion correction and volume fusion enables detailed tracking of subretinal drusenoid deposits (SDDs). This advanced OCT analysis reveals stability and changes in SDDs over time in patients with age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
Area of Science:
- Ophthalmology
- Medical Imaging
- Biomedical Engineering
Background:
- Subretinal drusenoid deposits (SDDs) are key features in intermediate age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
- Assessing longitudinal changes in SDDs is crucial for understanding AMD progression.
- Current imaging techniques may have limitations in visualizing and tracking small focal pathologies like SDDs.
Purpose of the Study:
- To demonstrate high-resolution, motion-corrected, volume-fused optical coherence tomography (OCT) for assessing longitudinal changes in macular dot form subretinal drusenoid deposits (SDDs).
Main Methods:
- Acquired six consecutive isotropic volume raster scans using a high-resolution spectral domain OCT prototype.
- Computationally corrected motion and fused OCT volumes for enhanced visualization.
- Evaluated SDD distribution and longitudinal changes using en face OCT in a 50-µm-thick slab above Bruch's membrane.
Main Results:
- Identified 326 SDDs in four eyes from patients with intermediate AMD over a 3- to 12-month follow-up.
- 85.3% of SDDs remained stable, 9.8% regressed, 3.4% fused, and 1.5% new SDDs appeared.
- Motion correction and volume fusion improved visibility and facilitated longitudinal assessment of SDDs.
Conclusions:
- Computational motion correction and volume fusion, combined with high-resolution OCT, enable visualization and longitudinal tracking of focal pathologies like SDDs.
- These methods can improve OCT analysis for quantifying SDDs and other AMD biomarkers.
