On Apr. 24, 2015, researchers led by David Huang, M.D., Ph.D. at Oregon Health Sciences University’s (OHSU) Casey Eye Institute announced they had developed a technology – optical coherence tomography (OCT) angiography – to better diagnose and manage the leading causes of blindness in the U.S. – retinal vascular diseases such as macular degeneration, diabetic eye disease, and glaucoma.

OCT provides a more precise and less invasive alternative to conventional dye-based retinal angiography used for screening and monitoring. The study results were published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

OHSU researchers found that OCT angiography has considerable advantages over conventional techniques for the diagnosis and management of macular degeneration, diabetic eye disease and glaucoma, the leading causes of blindness in the United States.

OCT angiography has been in development for several years in a few centers around the world. The key breakthrough that Yali Jia, Ph.D., study investigator and Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology at OHSU School of Medicine, OHSU Casey Eye Institute, and David Huang, M.D., Ph.D., study investigator and Peterson Professor of Ophthalmology, OHSU School of Medicine, OHSU Casey Eye Institute achieved was an algorithm called “split-spectrum amplitude-decorrelation angiography” (SSADA) that improved the quality of OCT angiography.

OHSU has filed patent applications for this invention and has licensed these patent rights to an OCT company. Utilizing SSADA, the scientists developed new methods in OCT angiography segmentation, visualization and quantification. OHSU has also filed for patent protection over these new angiography methods. These new methods, powered by SSADA, yield the exceptional results.

The OCT angiography used in the study is a noninvasive three-dimensional alternative to conventional angiography. It does not require injections and allows clinicians to measure vascular density and blood flow in vessels in a quantitative manner. This provides new information that is very useful for clinical diagnosis and management.

“The new OCT angiography will be much less invasive for patients. As a result, it is ideal for screening patients for disease and routine checkups to see if treatments are working,” said Dr. Huang. “I believe this technology will be used much more frequently than conventional dye-based angiography because it is faster, better, safer and cheaper. This will also surely lead to better management of eye diseases.”