[OCT in macular diagnostics - possibilities and limitations].

During the last years, optical coherence tomography (OCT) has evolved to an important diagnostic tool in ophthalmology. In addition to ophthalmoscopy and the topographic visualisation of pathologies of the posterior part of the eye by fluorescein and indocyanine-green angiography, OCT adds complementary tomographic information on the retinal structures. First generation (time domain) OCT machines already generated pictures that resemble histological cross-sections of the retina. With the new OCTs of the spectral/frequency/Fourier domain generation, topographic and tomographic information can be presented side-by-side or in combination, thereby increasing the accuracy of the localisation of the visualised structures. Because of its non-invasive methodology without contact to the patient's eye and the faster acquisition times with increasing resolution, the OCT has become a valuable instrument in the modern anatomic and structural diagnostics of the macula. Functional statements are not yet possible in a comprehensive manner, but first steps have been made with the interpretation of structural information from high-resolution images. In this paper, the emerging possibilities from a widespread use of the OCT, as well as the limitations of this diagnostic technique, are discussed. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.