Optic coherence tomography-angiography – a new technique in the diagnosis and follow-up of the patients with age-related macular degeneration – an overview

Abstract

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a degenerative, progressive disease, which destroys the central retina. AMD has two main forms - „dry“ and „wet“ (exudative). In order to make the diagnosis of AMD with CNV, apart from ophthalmoscopy, specialized tests are needed - fluorescein angiography (FA), indocyanine angiography, OCT, OCT-angiography (OCT-A). OCTA is a new and non-invasive technology. Compared to the old, well-known techniques for retinal evaluation, it is very precious because of its high resolution and detailed images – which allow early diagnosis and objective monitoring of the lesions in the future. The aim of this review is to describe the principles of function, features of the device and its application in everyday clinical practice in diagnosing patients with macular pathology. A systematic search of the literature, published in the past decade was identified from PubMed and Ovid databases with reference to the Preferred Reporting items for Systematic Review. AMD is a disease that is increasingly socially important because of the aging population in developed countries. The increasing use of OCT-A nowadays suggests new classification systems. The non-invasiveness, the short examination time and the high informativeness that OCT-A brings in relation to AMD requires a deeper study of the methodology and the development of new classifications to facilitate clinical practice.