FDA clears updated OCT software package

Dublin, CA-Carl Zeiss Meditec has added new diagnostic tools for dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and glaucoma to the software for its proprietary high-definition ocular coherence tomography (OCT) platform (Cirrus HD-OCT). The new software (Cirrus HD-OCT version 6.0) has received clearance from the FDA.

The software updates include:

• Advanced retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) analysis, which enables clinicians to monitor changes associated with dry AMD objectively, according to the company. The application tracks change in RPE elevation area and volume often associated with drusen. It also identifies and measures the area of transparent regions in the RPE that can develop with geographic atrophy.

• Enhanced depth imaging, which allows for better visualization of deeper tissues, such as the choroid, according to the company.

• Ganglion cell analysis and optic nerve head progression analysis. The ganglion cell analysis evaluates the thickness of the combined ganglion cell and inner plexiform layers and compares the results with normative data.

• Expansion of the unit’s proprietary disease progression ability (Guided Progression Analysis) to track progression of average cup-to-disc ratio and other optic nerve head parameters automatically.

“The new integrated RPE analysis software now offers clinicians the opportunity to analyze all stages of AMD objectively, especially the progression of dry AMD,” said Philip J. Rosenfeld, MD, PhD, professor of ophthalmology, Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, and a collaborator with Carl Zeiss Meditec in developing the techniques underlying the new applications. “Now, we don’t have to move patients between different instruments to visualize drusen, geographic atrophy, and choroidal neovascularization. These analyses will help clinicians stage and monitor disease progression today and will be critical to managing response to therapy as new treatments come to market.”

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