Myopes: Special Problems with OCT Imaging

Dr. Angelo P. Tanna discusses problems that can arise when performing OCT imaging on myopic eyes. Patients with myopia are much more likely to have tilted discs, optic disc torsion, and large areas of peripapillary atrophy, all of which interfere with imaging the circumpapillary retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness. Research has shown that the inferotemporal and superotemporal nerve fiber bundles tend to be more temporally oriented in eyes with high myopia, which causes differences in the RNFL thickness deviation map to be marked as abnormal. However, a new normative database that includes highly myopic eyes has yielded improved sensitivity and specificity for detection of glaucoma in these eyes. Dr. Tanna hopes this dataset is someday integrated into the commercially available OCT machines.