Expert Vision Care with OCT 3D Retinal Imaging

Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) is noninvasive imaging that uses light waves to take cross-sectional pictures of the retina. It is a highly advanced health check for people of all ages and is different from standard digital retinal photographs, which only image the surface of the back of the eye. This scan sees beneath the retina parts that basic instruments cannot see. 

Each of the retina’s distinctive layers can be seen with details discernible to micrometres with OCT. By imaging the macular, we can see if you have any signs of macular degeneration, macular holes, or epi-retinal membrane, which often can’t be seen by standard imaging.

An OCT scan also looks at the thickness of the nerve fibres as they radiate out from the optic nerve to the peripheral retina. When glaucoma damages these nerve fibre layers, they thin. The OCT scan reveals the thickness of these nerves and compares them with how the fibres should look using age-matched data. For those with a family history of glaucoma, we take a baseline scan initially and then compare future scans to this to detect subtle early signs of glaucoma, which we have never been able to do before.

If you are interested in having this specialist appointment, please email or telephone the East Grinstead practice to make your appointment.