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Anterior Segment OCT: Fundamentals and Technological Basis

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Atlas of Anterior Segment Optical Coherence Tomography

Part of the book series: Essentials in Ophthalmology ((ESSENTIALS))

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Abstract

The last 30 years have seen a progressive evolution of diagnostic devices for the anterior ocular segment. The latest milestone in the field has surely been the application of optical coherence tomography (OCT) to produce images with exquisitely high definition.

A few manufacturers of ophthalmic instruments have put on the market their own anterior segment instrument based on one of the two available Fourier domain OCT techniques, i.e., spectral domain or SD-OCT and swept source or SS-OCT. Each of these devices provides the clinician high-quality angle-to-angle pictures of the anterior segment and quick scans of a large number of sections from which extended topographic maps are extracted. OCT technology can also provide a noninvasive and reliable method to measure corneal epithelial thickness if its resolution is sufficiently high. Despite the impressive level of detail in OCT images, the traditional Placido disc technology may maintain a useful additional role as its resolution in measuring the curvatures of the anterior corneal surface is still unmatched even by modern OCT technology.

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Abbreviations

OCT:

Optical coherence tomography

AS-OCT:

Anterior segment optical coherence tomography

TD-OCT:

Time domain optical coherence tomography

FD-OCT:

Fourier domain optical coherence tomography

SD-OCT:

Spectral domain optical coherence tomography

SS-OCT:

Swept source optical coherence tomography

SLD:

Superluminescent diode

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Compliance with Ethical Requirements

Gabriele Vestri and Francesco Versaci are employees of CSO SRL. Claudio Macaluso declares that he has no conflict of interest.

No human studies were carried out by the authors for this article.

No animal studies were carried out by the authors for this article.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. CSO Costruzione Strumenti Oftalmici, Florence, Italy

    Gabriele Vestri & Francesco Versaci

  2. Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Parma, Parma, Italy

    Claudio Macaluso

Authors
  1. Gabriele Vestri
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  2. Claudio Macaluso
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  3. Francesco Versaci
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Gabriele Vestri .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Vissum Alicante University, Alicante, Spain

    Jorge L. Alió

  2. Vissum-Instituto Oftalmologico de Alica, Miguel Hernandez University, Alicante, Spain

    Jorge L. Alió del Barrio

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Vestri, G., Macaluso, C., Versaci, F. (2021). Anterior Segment OCT: Fundamentals and Technological Basis. In: Alió, J.L., del Barrio, J.L.A. (eds) Atlas of Anterior Segment Optical Coherence Tomography. Essentials in Ophthalmology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-53374-8_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-53374-8_2

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-53373-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-53374-8

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