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Redesign of OCT technology allows for at-home monitoring of age-related macular degeneration
SELFF-OCT will ease burden of elderly and mobility-impaired AMD patients

 

Rockville, Md.—Researchers have developed a new technology to allow for small, affordable optical coherence technology (OCT) that can be used by patients themselves to monitor their age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Lead author Claus von Der Burchard, MD, of the University of Kiel will present the new technology known as Self-Examination Low-Cost Full-Field OCT (SELFF-OCT) at the virtual 2021 Annual Meeting of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO).

Patients with AMD require frequent control visits at their eye doctor's office, but because the patients are often elderly and mobility-impaired, this is an immense burden for the patients. Furthermore, many patients have difficulty adhering to the strict schedule and thus not seen in the necessary intervals, therefore missing the optimal timespan for therapy. “Real-life therapy results are therefore vastly below where they could be,” explains von Der Burchard.

Inspired by this problem, von Der Burchard and team developed SELFF-OCT specifically for home monitoring of age-related macular degeneration. Following training in device training, 85 eyes of 45 patients with AMD were measured with SELFF-OCT. Compared to prior prototypes, advancements in technology and an improved patient interface enhanced image quality and reduced motion artifacts. In 86% of all examined eyes, OCT self-acquisition resulted in interpretable retinal OCT volume scans.

“Home monitoring of AMD (and other eye diseases) could significantly improve therapy results,” says von Der Burchard. “Just as patients today already naturally measure their blood pressure and blood sugar at home, we think that we can reach the same thing with AMD patients.”

  • Abstract title: Self-Examination Low-Cost Full-Field OCT (SELFF-OCT) for Age-Related Macular Degeneration
  • Presentation start/end time: Monday, May 3, 2021, 4:30 – 6:15pm ET
  • Presentation number: 3546110

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The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) is the largest eye and vision research organization in the world. Members include approximately 10,000 eye and vision researchers from over 75 countries. ARVO advances research worldwide into understanding the visual system and preventing, treating and curing its disorders. Learn more at ARVO.org.

Media contact:

Erin Hering
1.240.221.2927
media@arvo.org

 

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