Scanning laser reflectometry of retinal and subretinal tissues

Measurements of the human ocular fundus that make use of the light returnin g through the pupil are called reflectometry. Early reflectometry studies w ere limited by poor light return from the retina and strong reflections fro m the anterior surface of the eye. Artifacts produced misleading results in diseases like age-related macular degeneration. Novel laser sources, scann ing, confocal optics, and digital imaging provide improved sampling of the signal from the tissues of interest: photoreceptors and retinal pigment epi thelial cells. A wider range of wavelengths is now compared, including the near infrared. Reflectometry now provides functional mapping, even in sever e pathology. (C)2000 Optical Society of America.