Q&A: Daniela Bacherini discusses using ultra widefield OCT to evaluate peripheral retinal degenerations

Daniela Bacherini, MD, PhD, FEBO, from the University of Florence presented at the EURETINA 2025 meeting, focusing on ultra widefield peripheral OCT imaging of retinal degenerations. She explored how this advanced imaging technique provides unprecedented insights into peripheral retinal pathologies, potentially changing clinical approaches to detecting and managing retinal lesions. Her research highlighted the importance of examining peripheral retinal areas that have traditionally received less attention in medical imaging.

Note: The following conversation has been lightly edited for clarity.

Ophthalmology Times: You are speaking about the value of ultra widefield OCT imaging at this meeting. Can you share the highlights from your presenation?

Daniela Bacherini, MD, PhD, FEBO: During the EURETINA 2025, I presented our recent experience with ultra widefield peripheral OCT in the evaluation of peripheral retinal degenerations. As we know, peripheral retina has been had much less attention in visualizing it, largely due to intrinsic challenges of visualizing it, but many of the key pathologies originate from the peripheral retina and so at the same time, the macula has been the primary focus of OCT imaging, but today OCT has moved toward the periphery. So thanks to ultra widefield imaging, we gained a lot of insight and details in the peripheral retina that are very important to understand many retinal pathologies. We use the peripheral OCT to evaluate them.

BacheriniYou mentioned peripheral retinal degenerations. How are these connected to retinal detachments?

Bacherini: Peripheral retinal degenerations are common findings in the peripheral retina, and many of them can predispose to retinal detachment. So the key question could be, does this lesion predispose to retinal detachment or not? The current clinical approach is still based on clinical symptoms and clinical evaluation still combined with the sceral depression that is fundamental. But we found that peripheral OCT, ultra widefield, peripheral OCT, can add many important insights and the details to manage these important lesions. We evaluated many patients affected by these types of peripheral retinal degeneration, so mostly located in the far periphery. We found that peripheral OCT, in some cases, can change our clinical approach and our decision making. In fact, in many of these cases, for example, in peripheral retinal holes, sometimes OCT highlighted the presence of tractional findings, not otherwise visible, clinically visible. So we decided to treat these patients instead of a simple observation. So we think that, of course, peripheral OCT cannot replace, at the moment, clinical evaluation, but can add many important details and can improve our detection and the management of these lesions. Of course, if further confirmed by studies, it can be useful to add new therapeutic and classification criteria for these lesions.