Texas Retina’s Ashkan M. Abbey, MD, recently published an article exploring how home optical coherence tomography (OCT) monitoring may help detect recurring disease activity earlier in patients with neovascular (wet) age-related macular degeneration (AMD). It appeared in a special issue of Medicina titled Modern Diagnostic and Therapy for Vitreoretinal Diseases.
Wet AMD remains one of the leading causes of permanent vision loss. Although treatments such as anti-VEGF injections have significantly improved outcomes, many patients receive fewer injections or have longer intervals between treatments than those in clinical trials. As a result, disease activity can sometimes return between office visits, potentially affecting vision.
How OCT Helps Monitor Wet AMD
OCT is a non-invasive diagnostic imaging test that uses light waves to create detailed cross-sectional images of the retina. It can detect even small amounts of fluid or swelling, which are signs that wet AMD is active.
During office visits, retina specialists use OCT to monitor how well anti-VEGF injections are controlling the disease. However, there is concern that retinal fluid could build up undetected between appointments. Home OCT systems have recently emerged as a potential tool to help bridge this gap.
Exploring the Use of a Home OCT System
Home OCT systems are designed to help patients monitor their condition more frequently from home. These tabletop devices allow patients to perform their own retinal scans, which are securely uploaded to a cloud-based platform. Artificial intelligence (AI) analyzes the images for signs of fluid. If the amount of fluid exceeds thresholds set by the retina specialist, the care team is alerted and can determine whether treatment should be adjusted.
Dr. Abbey’s observational study evaluated whether near-daily home OCT scans could help identify persistent or recurring fluid sooner than standard office visits alone. The researchers examined how long fluid remained present between scheduled appointments and assessed whether home monitoring could reduce that exposure.
The study found that a substantial proportion of patients experienced unrecognized disease activity between visits. Dr. Abbey and his fellow researchers concluded that home OCT monitoring may be a valuable addition to the management of wet AMD by helping identify recurrent disease earlier, reducing undertreatment and prolonged fluid exposure, and potentially improving long-term vision outcomes.
Click HERE to read the full article.
About Dr. Ashkan Abbey
Dr. Abbey serves as Texas Retina’s Director of Clinical Research for Dallas and cares for patients in our Dallas Main and Rockwall offices.
Click HERE to learn more about Dr. Abbey.