Ophthalmic Surgery, Lasers & Imaging: The Official Journal of the International Society for Imaging in the Eye (2003)

This issue of Ophthalmic Surgery, Lasers & Imaging heralds the inauguration of a professional organization dedicated to ocular imaging, the International Society for Imaging in the Eye (ISIE), as well as a new focal point for this journal. Imaging holds great promise for advances in the understanding, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of vision-threatening disorders. The International Society for Imaging in the Eye will engage in educational programs and serve as a forum for interchange among its members to promote the development of imaging technology for applications in clinical and investigational ophthalmology.

Each future issue of Ophthalmic Surgery, Lasers & Imaging will contain a journal-within-a-journal devoted exclusively to ocular imaging. Effective immediately, Ophthalmic Surgery, Lasers & Imaging will serve as the official journal of the International Society for Imaging in the Eye.

Ocular imaging has taken on a growing importance with the introduction of new technologies for objective quantitative assessment of ocular structure and function. In the past two decades we have seen computerized tomographic scanning and magnetic resonance imaging overtake conventional radiographs for assessment of the brain and orbits. These technologies have advanced the quality of resolution to now permit the detection of fine abnormalities in the structures around and in the eye and brain. Positron emission tomography is beginning to demonstrate functional brain activity in an objective, quantitative fashion.

New devices have been developed for analysis of the anterior and posterior segment and have been successfully taken from the research laboratory to clinical application. Perhaps no area of the eye has received as much attention as the retina and optic nerve, for analysis of macular diseases and glaucoma. Again, the past two decades have seen exponential growth in our ability to reproducibly detect the finest retinal details with high degrees of precision. Confocal scanning laser ophthalmoscopy, slit laser ophthalmoscopy, scanning laser polarimetry, and optical coherence tomography have each produced new insights into normal in vivo retinal and optic nerve anatomy and have led the way to advanced diagnosis of subtle stages of disease and disease progression. We are on the verge of clinical in vivo cellular imaging, and we may soon see true “optical biopsy.”

While not strictly “imaging,” objective assessments of visual function fall within the areas of interest of the membership of ISIE and readers of Ophthalmic Surgery, Lasers & Imaging. Advances in electrophysiology in particular represent important first steps in reducing the subjectivity of functional measures, both for the patient taking the test and the examiner evaluating it.

We are moving from an era dominated by subjective assessment of ocular structure and function to one guided by objective, quantitative measures. The many technologies in clinical use and the new technologies under development in laboratories worldwide represent the efforts of many investigators over many years. Such advances demonstrate the dedication of individuals to bettering the health of our patients and improving our understanding of human anatomy, physiology, disease, and treatment.

Ophthalmic Surgery, Lasers & Imaging will be a forum for clinical and basic science communications and a conduit for authors throughout the world. We look forward to regularly highlighting the excellent contributions of clinicians and scientists in the field of imaging among our broad selection of ophthalmology articles.