Real-time cavitation monitoring during optical coherence tomography guided photo-mediated ultrasound therapy of the retina.

Abstract

We first examined the capability of SD-OCT in detecting cavitation on a vascular-mimicking phantom and compared the results with those from a passive cavitation detector. The performance of the integrated system in treatment of choroidal microvessels was then evaluated in rabbit eyes in vivo. During the in vivo PUT experiments, several biomarkers at the subretinal layer in the rabbit eye were identified on OCT images. The findings indicate that, by evaluating biomarkers of treatment effect, real-time SD-OCT monitoring could help to avoid micro-hemorrhage, which is a potential major side effect. Real-time OCT monitoring can thus improve the safety and efficiency of PUT in removing the retinal and choroidal microvasculature.