An OCT image from a patient with deteriorating vision in her left eye. The image clearly shows the hole penetrating the full retina with adjacent swelling or edema. An OCT image from the patient s other eye. However, the OCT image revealed early stages of a macular hole. If detected early, often these patients can be treated surgically to arrest the development of macular holes and reduce the possibility of vision loss.
Cancer is the second leading cause of mortality in the industrialized world.
The middle figure is an image of a normal bowel, which shows columnar epithelium that is distinct from the esophagus. The bottom image shows a carcinoma, where the regular columnar formation in the bowel is severely disrupted. This loss of normal tissue structure is often a signature of neoplastic change. OCT images have already achieved resolutions ranging from 10 to 15 microns. While this is sufficient for imaging in many applications, it is still not enough to achieve cellular resolution.