To begin, switch on the laser ophthalmoscopy instrument. Position the OCT head by moving the entire unit and raising its height. Focus the image by rotating the knob, then lock down the position of the head by turning the thumbscrew.
Insert the eye sample into the holder. Manually adjust the eye position in the holder and stabilize it with spacers without indenting the sclera. Orient the holder to face the superior rectus muscle up.
After opening the proprietary visualization and analysis software for the OCT device, a patient list indexed by an internal code number will appear in the left column. Select the new patient icon and complete the patient data information before clicking Okay. Once done, select the operator and the study from the dropdown menu.
After viewing a blank screen, press the yellow button on the control panel to start the image acquisition. Select IR plus OCT on the control module. Allow the laser to acquire a live SLO image of the fundus and OCT-B scan.
Manipulate the OCT laser head to acquire a relative position and focus with a black knob on the unit. Rotate the round, black disc on the control panel to adjust the intensity. Use the black disc to average 100 frames.
Once the fundus is in focus, the OCT-B scan appears in the top third of the display. Use the cursor to move the blue line present on the fundus image to center the fovea, before pressing acquire. Select IR and the volume setting on the control module to acquire the OCT volumes.
Adjust all the OCT control and scan settings. Once the near infrared reflectance fundus view is covered in blue B-scan lines, recheck the OCT position in the top right window and click acquire"on the control module to complete the volume scan. Once the image acquisition is complete, select exit"to save the image.
After processing, the image will appear on the screen. To begin the scanning laser ophthalmoscopy, bring the eye globe placed in the holder to the scanning laser ophthalmoscope. On the ophthalmoscope, select the R position.
Then, select the IR mode to align and orient the globe. Orient the camera head. Focus the image by rotating the knob.
Turn and lock down the position of the head with the thumbscrew. Then, adjust the black lever in position R.Once the image is focused, move the selector knob from R to A.Select ICGA, 100%intensity, a 30 degrees field of view and single-phase imaging. After pressing the black disc for averaging, select acquire.
The ex-vivo imaging of unremarkable macula obtained from a donor, revealed an unremarkable macula and hyporeflective, large choroidal vessels with a reflective RPE BL Brooks Band between the two. The multimodal ex-vivo imaging of a macula with early intermediate age-related macular degeneration, or AMD, revealed a closeup view of the fovea showing hyperpigmentation corresponding to the vitelliform lesion. In the early intermediate AMD, visible features included soft drusen with a hyporeflective line at the base, a hyper reflective focus, subretinal drusenoid deposits and vitelliform change.
Similarly, the macula with atrophic AMD and the macula with macular atrophy secondary to neovascular AMD were studied. Also, the ex-vivo OCT imaging of the donor's eyes facilitated the study of common artifacts in postmortem tissues.
