OCT – Optical coherence tomography

OCT or optical coherence tomography is a test that uses a beam of light to perform a CT scan (the image of a section) of the structures of the eye.

In this sense, the OCT image is comparable to an MRI image that provides an image of a section of the human body.

In the case of OCT, we can obtain images of sections of the retina, the optic nerve or the anterior segment of the eye. The main difference between OCT and other imaging tests that provide “slices” (such as CT, MRI and B-scan) is the resolution of the image. In OCT, structures can be differentiated at the level of micrometers (thousandths of millimeters). This means that the OCT is simultaneously a CT scanner and a microscope, which makes it possible to observe retinal structures in the greatest detail.

The amount of information provided by OCT is such that its use has multiplied our knowledge of ocular pathologies, and new diseases have even been discovered.