Author:
Ndubuisi Okonkwo Ogugua,Thelma Agweye Chineze,Akanbi Toyin,Ashibel Utam Utam
Abstract
Since its inception, retinal imaging has been vital in documenting and understanding macular diseases. The early thinking was to document retinal pathology as it became possible to visualize the retina using an ophthalmoscope. This reasoning quickly evolved into the need to monitor disease evolution and treatment changes using digital images. With further rapid advancement in imaging technology, it has become possible to visualize and image at a subcellular level, the macula, in health and disease. Technological advances have resulted in the scanning laser ophthalmoscope, optical coherence tomography, and adaptive optics incorporation into imaging. The “dye” and “non-dye” based evaluation of retinal vasculature has improved our understanding of various macula and retinovascular diseases. The fundus photograph and optical coherence tomography are the most utilized technologies for imaging the macula. With an expected increase in diabetic retinopathy and macular degeneration patients, more macular imaging will be done in years to come. Consequently, more macula image data will be available for data analysis using artificial intelligence, improving our predictive ability and personalization. Therefore, macular imaging will assume increasing significance and imaging techniques for the macula should be known and understood. This chapter provides an exhaustive list of common and less-known imaging techniques for macular imaging and an overview of their use in evaluating the macula in clinical practice and research.