Assessment of the use of spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) for evaluation of the healthy and pathological cornea in dogs and cats.

PURPOSE: Morphologic evaluation of the cornea is based on the slit-lamp examination. In human ophthalmology, optical coherence tomography (OCT) has opened a new field in the clinical approach to anterior segment disorders and more specifically the cornea. The aim of our study is to describe spectral domain OCT examination of the cornea in dogs and cats in clinical practice conditions.
MATERIAL AND METHODS: One hundred eyes were examined from 52 dogs and 41 cats presented to a private practice referral center with an Optovue iVue SD-OCT device. Sixteen healthy animals were used as control group, and the others were examined for various corneal conditions. All animals were examined after sedation or anesthesia.
RESULTS: Normal and pathological aspects of canine and feline cornea were described for various conditions such as corneal ulcers, microbial keratitis, corneal sequestrum, infiltrations, foreign bodies, corneal dystrophies, and surgical conditions.
CONCLUSION: SD-OCT examination of normal and pathological corneal conditions in dogs and cats gave an accurate evaluation of each component of the cornea. The advantage of the technique is the in vivo, real-time evaluation of all corneal layers with the absence of corneal contact. Constraints included the necessity of sedation for precise focus and the low quality of images obtained with too pigmented or thickened corneas.