Ultra-Widefield Retina Imaging: Principles of Technology and Clinical Applications

Abstract

The peripheral retina is frequently affected by various diseases and ultra-widefield (UWF) imaging has become an essential tool for evaluation of peripheral retinal pathology. The wide angle and high resolution of this imaging device were recently updated along with multimodal capabilities, including pseudocolor fundus photographs, fluorescein and indocyanine green angiography, and autofluorescence images. Using this UWF technology, important clinical observations have been made in the normal population and patients with certain diseases including diabetic retinopathy, retinal vascular occlusion, retinal detachment, uveitis, age-related macular degeneration, and choroidal tumors. Although peripheral distortion and the need for clinical validation are obstacles to overcome for the accurate quantification and more generalized use, UWF imaging has provided new insights into a variety of disorders and has become the standard-ofcare imaging modality for many diseases. Therefore, use of UWF retinal imaging for the daily retina practice in the near future is inevitable. This review will describe the principles of UWF technologies with several modalities, and include its clinical applications and then suggest future directions.

Deep Learning-Based Automated Detection of Retinal Breaks and Detachments on Fundus Photography

“…1 Recent advances in wide field imaging techniques, namely ultra-widefield (UWF) imaging, have increased the sensitivity of those imaging modalities, especially for the peripheral retina. 6 UWF imaging devices enable the acquisition of 200 degrees of the retina in a single image, whereas conventional fundus photography is restricted to the central 30 degrees to 60 degrees. However, the increased sensitivity of the newer imaging modalities comes along with a more challenging, time-consuming analysis for the clinical practitioner, because a standard single UWF fundus image device generates an image series consisting of up to 15 images per eye.…”

Fundus imaging: Conventional fundus drawings versus ultrawidefield fundus photography

“…It is useful for imaging, record keeping, follow-ups, patient counseling, and medicolegal purposes, and it avoids human error. [ 1 , 2 ] It truly seems like a one-key-fit-all solution with no apparent downside. Does this mean that we must put away, if not our indirect ophthalmoscopes, all our prints of the Amsler-Dubois fundus chart and the color pencils we so diligently used as residents?…”