OCT is an imaging technology used to visualize the back of the eye (i.e., the retina) without the need for dilation. The public-friendly videos feature testimony from patients, clinicians and researchers describing how OCT improves the diagnosis and monitoring of diseases such as glaucoma, macular degeneration, retinopathy of prematurity and diabetic eye disease.
The technology’s initial support from government funding and potential future applications — diagnosing neurological diseases like Alzheimer’s, improving surgical outcomes in the operating room and application in telemedicine — are highlighted as well.
Additional outreach tools aimed at other audiences have been developed, including a special issue on the latest OCT research in the journal Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science(IOVS) and an advocacy toolkit highlighting the real-world impact of OCT on public health, jobs and the economy.
“OCT is more than just a ‘miracle’ of modern medicine,” said ARVO President Emily Y. Chew, MD, FARVO. “It took thousands of people a lot of time and money to transform what was a discovery in government-supported research labs into a clinical tool that revolutionized the practice of ophthalmology. These resources we’ve created are designed to highlight the incredible return on taxpayer-funded investment in vision researchers.”
OCT has become the predominant means of detecting and monitoring diseases like macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy and glaucoma. Everyone over the age of 60 is recommended to get an OCT scan once a year.
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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 nearly 12,000 eye and vision researchers from over 75 countries. ARVO advances research worldwide into understanding the visual system and preventing, treating and curing its disorders.
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