Abstract

PURPOSE. To investigate the use of high-resolution Fourierdomain optical coherence tomography to image choroidal neovascular membranes associated with exudative age-related macular degeneration. METHODS. An Fd-OCT instrument with axial resolution of 4 to 4.5 μm and transverse resolution of 10 to 15 μm was used to image 21 eyes with newly diagnosed eAMD. A raster series of 100 B-scans separated by 60 μm was used to study the growth pattern of CNVM and associated morphologic changes. CNVM size was determined using 250 to 300 serial virtual C-scans of reconstructed three-dimensional macular volume. RESULTS. A highly reflective subretinal and/or subretinal pigment epithelial lesion that co-localized with the CNVM seen on fluorescein angiography was detected in all eyes by Fd-OCT. Although a combined subretinal and sub-RPE growth pattern of various degrees was noted in 15 eyes, a statistically significant difference in the distribution of growth pattern was noted when classic CNVM was compared with occult CNVM. CONCLUSIONS. Fd-OCT is a promising potential alternative modality to visualize CNVM with AMD. Angiographic lesion size and type correlated with growth pattern and size of CNVM on Fd-OCT, with correlation being stronger for classic lesions. © Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology.