Faculty Bibliography

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: To assess the potential of a new diagnostic technique called optical coherence tomography for imaging macular disease. Optical coherence tomography is a novel noninvasive, noncontact imaging modality which produces high depth resolution (10 microns) cross-sectional tomographs of ocular tissue. It is analogous to ultrasound, except that optical rather than acoustic reflectivity is measured. METHODS: Optical coherence tomography images of the macula were obtained in 51 eyes of 44 patients with selected macular diseases. Imaging is performed in a manner compatible with slit-lamp indirect biomicroscopy so that high-resolution optical tomography may be accomplished simultaneously with normal ophthalmic examination. The time-of-flight delay of light backscattered from different layers in the retina is determined using low-coherence interferometry. Cross-sectional tomographs of the retina profiling optical reflectivity versus distance into the tissue are obtained in 2.5 seconds and with a longitudinal resolution of 10 microns. RESULTS: Correlation of fundus examination and fluorescein angiography with optical coherence tomography tomographs was demonstrated in 12 eyes with the following pathologies: full- and partial-thickness macular hole, epiretinal membrane, macular edema, intraretinal exudate, idiopathic central serous chorioretinopathy, and detachments of the pigment epithelium and neurosensory retina. CONCLUSION: Optical coherence tomography is potentially a powerful tool for detecting and monitoring a variety of macular diseases, including macular edema, macular holes, and detachments of the neurosensory retina and pigment epithelium.

We have recently developed new techniques for culturing chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) lymphocytes from human aqueous humor. We used leukemic lymphocytes collected from the aqueous humor of a patient with CLL and leukemic glaucoma. We grew these leukemic cells in combination with a feeder cell layer and other technical refinements. Microscopy and immunoassay indicate success in obtaining a homogenous population of B-type CLL cells through the 12th passage of the culture. No significant effect on cell growth was found with either of two mitogens (PWM and PHA), or between culture with and without autologous serum. Our new techniques for culturing leukemic cells derived from the aqueous humor provide a reliable resource for the study of chronic lymphocytic leukemia lymphocytes and leukemic glaucoma.