Dr Chris Murphy

The optical coherence tomography (OCT) workshop will give an overview of the main areas when OCT is useful in optometry practice. It will help optometrists to become more confident in diagnosis and differentiating pathology from the normal range and offer suggestions on if, when and how quickly to refer.

The first session starts with an overview of the fundamentals of OCT technology, including the advantages of swept-source OCT.

Dr Jesse Gale will then provide a review of the role of OCT in glaucoma diagnosis and management. There is debate about the role of glaucoma imaging tests in the community optometry setting. For example, by scanning all customers will we successfully screen for glaucoma and prevent blindness or will we generate a tsunami of 'worried well' with yellow and red segments on their print-outs? These issues have significant implications for our hospital eye services. Dr Gale hopes to emphasise the clinical settings where a glaucoma scan is useful before referral, as well as discuss the merits of different glaucoma imaging tests, leaving time to share some cases to illustrate how best to collaborate between optometry and ophthalmology on borderline cases.

I will then discuss reviews where OCT is helpful in the anterior segment and anterior chamber angle assessment as well as new uses of Avastin in the management of anterior segment neovascularisation.

After lunch, local VR surgeon Dr Keith Small will explain the use of OCT in diagnosing and managing vitreoretinal cases with examples.

Ending the day, therapeutic optometrist Richard Johnson and Auckland-based ophthalmologist Dr Andrew Riley will discuss OCT from a medical retinal point of view. They will cover a large range of cases where the use of OCT has assisted the diagnosis and management of patients with retinal pathology. The main focus will be on common conditions, such as diabetes and age-related macular degeneration, but will also include some of the newly described pathologies that have come to light in the last few years since high-resolution OCTs have been utilised clinically. 

Delegates are welcome to bring along any cases they might like to discuss or would like an opinion on. 

*Dr Chris Murphy is a Hamilton-based ophthalmologist and CCLS councillor.