- Email: [email protected]
Optical Coherence Tomography of Ocular Disease
BOOK NOTES
Optical Coherence Tomography of Ocular Disease, 2nd ed. Schulman JS, Puliafito CA, and Fujimoto JG, eds. Thorofare, New Jersey: SLACK Incorporated, 2004. Hardcover, illustrated, 736 pages, $289.95 Rarely does a 700⫹ page book serve as a powerful advertisement for a single new technology, but—intentional or not— this extraordinary book is the ultimate advertisement (as well as the bible) of OCT interpretation. At the present time, OCT has no equal in revealing the intricate details of vitreal-retinal disorders, and is sometimes the only available technology capable of detecting select pathologies. The text’s primary objective is to illustrate the clinical presentation of the posterior segment in health and disease by comparing conventional procedures (such as fundus photography, fluorescein angiography, and visual fields) to OCT cross-
sectional images. This second edition of an already excellent text is a completely revised and updated version that incorporates more than 1,600 color images to meet its objective. One could argue that OCT is the single most important technology for viewing the fundus since Helmholtz invented the ophthalmoscope, back in 1850. It is also as equally non-invasive. Dilation helps, the light source is easily tolerable, and the data acquisition is surprisingly rapid. The high-resolution cross-sectional images afforded by the OCT approach the detail contained in an ocular anatomy textbook and is already proving as vital to the eye clinician as the CT and MRI are to the neurologist. The book contains 14 chapters that are divided into four sections: (1) Principles of Operation and Interpretation; (2) Optical Coherence Tomography in Retinal Disease; (3) Optical Coherence Tomography in Glaucoma, Neuro-ophthalmology, and the Anterior Segment; and a section of Appendices. The emphasis and strength of the book is on the OCT in retinal diseases, with nearly 500 pages spread over 11 major chapters devoted to virtually all clinically encountered retinal disorders. The section on glaucoma presents exemplary cases and contrasts disk photographs and threshold fields with OCT disk topography and OCT retinal nerve fiber layer analysis. The reader is left with the impression that the OCT nerve fiber layer measurements correspond better to visual-field results than do the disk topography findings. Some clinicians will need to first review the intrica-
cies of retinal anatomy and—in order to best utilize this remarkable new technology—to learn for the first time the cross-sectional presentations of various vitreal and retinal pathologies. Not only does the OCT help the clinician arrive at the correct diagnosis by revealing detail not observable with any form of ophthalmoscopy, the non-invasive OCT often teaches us about the histopathology of select disorders, but without sacrificing tissue. A medical retinal specialist recently asked me about the book and if it was a worthwhile investment in time and money. My response was that if one chooses to stay current in the differential diagnosis of vitrealretinal disorders, the book is an absolute must. I highly recommend it to all ophthalmic clinicians with interest in vitrealretinal disorders. The book will also prove to be helpful to those interested in the early detection of glaucoma by assessing the OCT nerve fiber layer measurements. Any clinician who uses an ophthalmoscope can become a better diagnostician by frequently referring to the book and reviewing the fundus photographs of the various retinal disorders, the corresponding fluorescein angiograms, and the OCT cross-sectional images. One scarcely knows which to admire more: the authors’ collective knowledge of vitreal-retinal disease and OCT interpretation, or the remarkable, revealing images contained in the hundreds of exemplary cases contained in this superbly produced text. Jerome Sherman, O.D. New York, New York 513
VOLUME 76 / NUMBER 9 / SEPTEMBER 2005
OPTOMETRY
Optical Coherence Tomography of Ocular Disease, 2nd ed. Schulman JS, Puliafito CA, and Fujimoto JG, eds. Thorofare, New Jersey: SLACK Incorporated, 2004. Hardcover, illustrated, 736 pages, $289.95 Rarely does a 700⫹ page book serve as a powerful advertisement for a single new technology, but—intentional or not— this extraordinary book is the ultimate advertisement (as well as the bible) of OCT interpretation. At the present time, OCT has no equal in revealing the intricate details of vitreal-retinal disorders, and is sometimes the only available technology capable of detecting select pathologies. The text’s primary objective is to illustrate the clinical presentation of the posterior segment in health and disease by comparing conventional procedures (such as fundus photography, fluorescein angiography, and visual fields) to OCT cross-
sectional images. This second edition of an already excellent text is a completely revised and updated version that incorporates more than 1,600 color images to meet its objective. One could argue that OCT is the single most important technology for viewing the fundus since Helmholtz invented the ophthalmoscope, back in 1850. It is also as equally non-invasive. Dilation helps, the light source is easily tolerable, and the data acquisition is surprisingly rapid. The high-resolution cross-sectional images afforded by the OCT approach the detail contained in an ocular anatomy textbook and is already proving as vital to the eye clinician as the CT and MRI are to the neurologist. The book contains 14 chapters that are divided into four sections: (1) Principles of Operation and Interpretation; (2) Optical Coherence Tomography in Retinal Disease; (3) Optical Coherence Tomography in Glaucoma, Neuro-ophthalmology, and the Anterior Segment; and a section of Appendices. The emphasis and strength of the book is on the OCT in retinal diseases, with nearly 500 pages spread over 11 major chapters devoted to virtually all clinically encountered retinal disorders. The section on glaucoma presents exemplary cases and contrasts disk photographs and threshold fields with OCT disk topography and OCT retinal nerve fiber layer analysis. The reader is left with the impression that the OCT nerve fiber layer measurements correspond better to visual-field results than do the disk topography findings. Some clinicians will need to first review the intrica-
cies of retinal anatomy and—in order to best utilize this remarkable new technology—to learn for the first time the cross-sectional presentations of various vitreal and retinal pathologies. Not only does the OCT help the clinician arrive at the correct diagnosis by revealing detail not observable with any form of ophthalmoscopy, the non-invasive OCT often teaches us about the histopathology of select disorders, but without sacrificing tissue. A medical retinal specialist recently asked me about the book and if it was a worthwhile investment in time and money. My response was that if one chooses to stay current in the differential diagnosis of vitrealretinal disorders, the book is an absolute must. I highly recommend it to all ophthalmic clinicians with interest in vitrealretinal disorders. The book will also prove to be helpful to those interested in the early detection of glaucoma by assessing the OCT nerve fiber layer measurements. Any clinician who uses an ophthalmoscope can become a better diagnostician by frequently referring to the book and reviewing the fundus photographs of the various retinal disorders, the corresponding fluorescein angiograms, and the OCT cross-sectional images. One scarcely knows which to admire more: the authors’ collective knowledge of vitreal-retinal disease and OCT interpretation, or the remarkable, revealing images contained in the hundreds of exemplary cases contained in this superbly produced text. Jerome Sherman, O.D. New York, New York 513
VOLUME 76 / NUMBER 9 / SEPTEMBER 2005
OPTOMETRY