OCT can evaluate anterior chamber reaction in nontransparent cornea

The Tyndall effect, the phenomenon in which light is scattered by very small particles in its path, forms the basis behind the visualization of anterior chamber cells by the slit lamp. There are clinical situations in which the aqueous may not be clearly visible due to corneal edema or loss of corneal transparency. Under such circumstances, the visibility of cells becomes poorer, which necessitates an objective method of examination.In 2008, the objective method of diagnosing anterior chamber cells in anterior uveitis with time domain anterior segment OCT was reported. However, the limitation with time domain OCT has been its low resolution and slow acquisition time. The more recent spectral domain or Fourier domain OCT systems enable examination of both the anterior and posterior segments in a single setup. In this column, we will present a new OCT-based grading of anterior chamber cells, especially in nontransparent corneas.