Optical coherence tomography (OCT) allows the visualization of retina and choroid through a noninvasive procedure and plays a pivotal role in modern ophthalmic multimodal imaging. In many ways, OCT has become the most valuable diagnostic imaging tool in the vitreoretinal clinic.

OCT technology has continuously evolved and expanded from its inception as time-domain OCT. The advent of Fourier domain detection techniques with either spectrometer-based system referred to as spectral-domain OCT (SD-OCT), or frequency swept laser-based system referred to as swept-source OCT (SS-OCT), has enabled OCT imaging with unprecedented scanning speeds and sensitivities leading to widespread clinical utilization of OCT. Faster scanning speeds is crucial for in vivo imaging as it can minimize motion artifacts and also permit the acquisition of volumetric OCT data.

OCT angiography (OCTA) provides detailed information on the microvascular flow of the individual layers within the retina and choroid. The large volume of OCTA data is amenable to software-based image processing and may provide quantitative biomarkers that reflect vascular pathology.

Microscope-integrated intraoperative OCT provides real-time feedback on the tissue-instrument interactions during vitreoretinal surgery.