Introduction

In veterinary practice, corneal examination is performed by ophthalmoscope and fundus camera. However, with these instruments it isn't possible to examine the corneal histology. With optical coherence tomography (OCT), we are able to examine the different types of ulcer in a histology-like level.

Objectives

Our goal is to work out a method which makes it possible to diagnose the different types of acute and chronic corneal diseases and be able to determine the alterations of the corneal structure only with OCT.

Methods

The OCT's principle of operation is similar to that of the ultrasound system, but instead it applies laser light to scan the cornea in vivo in 5-µm resolution (Schuman et al.).

Results

In our clinical practice, we performed the OCT examination of 50 dogs between the ages of 3 months and 15 years. We were able to distinguish the different types of corneal ulcers and examine how the structure of the cornea is disintegrating within. In corneal edema OCT pictures, we can distinguish the different structural layers and how they get separated from each other. The corneal pigmentation appears as a high-density lane above the epithelial layer. Furthermore, we made a series of pictures of the recovering process due time and treatment.

Conclusions

Through application of OCT, certain diseases either genetically or chronic can be diagnosed, even in early stages without the application of histology. It is also possible to determine which layer of the cornea is affected by the alteration.