Chapter 1
Clinical Applications of Retinal Optical
Coherence Tomography
Haoyu Chen, Tingkun Shi and Danny Siu-Chun Ng
The developments of medical imaging techniques and medical image analysis methods are always motivated by the needs arising from clinical applications. This chapter
introduces anatomy of the eye and the retina, describes various types of eye diseases
that can be visualized with OCT imaging, and therefore presents the must-know
background knowledge for readers interested in retinal OCT image analysis.
1.1 Anatomy of the Eye and Retina
1.1.1 Simple Anatomy of the Eye
The eye is an organ that perceives light and visual information. There are five senses
in human body, including vision, hearing, smell, touch and taste. More than 80% of
information we received is obtained through vision perceived by the eyes.
The structure of the eye is like a ball, although it is not a perfect sphere. There are
three layers of coats, enclosing three intraocular components: (1) The front of the
eyeball is cornea, which is transparent and contribute to most of the refractive power
of the eye; the posterior part of the outermost layer is sclera, which consists of fibrous
tissue and protects the inner structures. (2) The middle layer of the eyeball is vascular
tunic or uvea, which consists of iris, ciliary body and choroid. The center of iris is
open and called pupil. The muscles inside the iris control the size of pupil and the
amount of light getting into the retina. Ciliary body is responsible for the generation
of aqueous humor and accommodation. The choroid is located just outside the retina
and provides nutrition and oxygen for the outer part of retina. (3) The innermost
H. Chen (B) · T. Shi · D. S.-C. Ng
Joint Shantou International Eye Center, Shantou
University and the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shantou, China
e-mail: drchenhaoyu@gmail.com
© Science Press and Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2019
X. Chen et al. (eds.), Retinal Optical Coherence Tomography Image Analysis,
Biological and Medical Physics, Biomedical Engineering,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-1825-2_1
1
Clinical Applications of Retinal Optical
Coherence Tomography
Haoyu Chen, Tingkun Shi and Danny Siu-Chun Ng
The developments of medical imaging techniques and medical image analysis methods are always motivated by the needs arising from clinical applications. This chapter
introduces anatomy of the eye and the retina, describes various types of eye diseases
that can be visualized with OCT imaging, and therefore presents the must-know
background knowledge for readers interested in retinal OCT image analysis.
1.1 Anatomy of the Eye and Retina
1.1.1 Simple Anatomy of the Eye
The eye is an organ that perceives light and visual information. There are five senses
in human body, including vision, hearing, smell, touch and taste. More than 80% of
information we received is obtained through vision perceived by the eyes.
The structure of the eye is like a ball, although it is not a perfect sphere. There are
three layers of coats, enclosing three intraocular components: (1) The front of the
eyeball is cornea, which is transparent and contribute to most of the refractive power
of the eye; the posterior part of the outermost layer is sclera, which consists of fibrous
tissue and protects the inner structures. (2) The middle layer of the eyeball is vascular
tunic or uvea, which consists of iris, ciliary body and choroid. The center of iris is
open and called pupil. The muscles inside the iris control the size of pupil and the
amount of light getting into the retina. Ciliary body is responsible for the generation
of aqueous humor and accommodation. The choroid is located just outside the retina
and provides nutrition and oxygen for the outer part of retina. (3) The innermost
H. Chen (B) · T. Shi · D. S.-C. Ng
Joint Shantou International Eye Center, Shantou
University and the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shantou, China
e-mail: drchenhaoyu@gmail.com
© Science Press and Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2019
X. Chen et al. (eds.), Retinal Optical Coherence Tomography Image Analysis,
Biological and Medical Physics, Biomedical Engineering,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-1825-2_1
1