Research Trends and Hotspots of Retinal Optical Coherence Tomography: A 31-Year Bibliometric Analysis

Abstract

The emergence of optical coherence tomography (OCT) over the past three decades has sparked great interest in retinal research. However, a comprehensive analysis of the trends and hotspots in retinal OCT research is currently lacking. We searched the publications on retinal OCT in the Web of Science database from 1991 to 2021 and performed the co-occurrence keyword analysis and co-cited reference network using bibliometric tools. A total of 25,175 publications were included. There has been a progressive increase in the number of publications. The keyword co-occurrence network revealed five clusters of hotspots: (1) thickness measurements; (2) therapies for macular degeneration and macular edema; (3) degenerative retinal diseases; (4) OCT angiography (OCTA); and (5) vitrectomy for macular hole and epiretinal membrane. The co-citation analysis displayed 26 highly credible clusters (S = 0.9387) with a well-structured network (Q = 0.879). The major trends of research were: (1) thickness measurements; (2) therapies for macular degeneration and macular edema; and (3) OCTA. Recent emerging frontiers showed a growing interest in OCTA, vessel density, choriocapillaris, central serous chorioretinopathy, Alzheimer’s disease, and deep learning. This review summarized 31 years of retinal OCT research, shedding light on the hotspots, main themes, and emerging frontiers to assist in future research.