Mandatory medical device diagnostics.
- Slit lamp examination (slit lamp microscope; viewing of the eyeball under appropriate illumination and high magnification).
- Ophthalmoscopy (ocular funduscopy; synonym: funduscopy) in cases of drug-induced dilated pupils (mydriasis) – for the diagnosis of “dry” or “wet” age-related macular degeneration (AMD)
- [“dry” AMD: Ophthalmoscopy reveals deposits below the retinal pigment epithelium (retina), which are called drusen (= subretinal lipid deposits). These are visible as small, yellow lesions clustered in the macula (“yellow spot” (Latin macula lutea); area of the retina with the highest density of photoreceptors). Over time, atrophic changes occur, which appear as sharply defined, hypopigmented (“reduced pigmentation”) areas and in the further course enlarge and confluent (merge).
- “wet” or “exudative” AMD: The vascular neoplasms in wet AMD are difficult to secure by ophthalmoscopy, because they are located below the retina (retina). Ophthalmoscopy may reveal edema (fluid accumulation), hemorrhage, and gray discoloration in the macular area. In wet AMD, therefore, a so-called fluorescein angiography (vascular imaging using contrast medium) or, rarely, an indocyanine green angiography may be required to detect the vascular neoplasms]
Optional medical device diagnostics – depending on the results of the history, physical examination and obligatory laboratory parameters – for differential diagnostic clarification.
- Laser scanning ophthalmoscopy (Optomap laser scanner; ultra-wide-angle laser scanner that takes very high-resolution images of the retina) – this procedure can detect an early stage of macular degeneration, in which there are still no limitations in vision [early detection].
- Optical coherence tomography (OCT; imaging procedure for the examination of the retina, vitreous and optic nerve; method for creating optical, two-dimensional cross-sectional images) – for diagnostics and for monitoring progress.
- Fluorescein angiography (imaging method for the diagnosis of diseases of the ocular fundus) – for the initial indication of a possibly necessary treatment of exudative AMD [detection of exudation of intravascular dye from a pathological blood vessel formation into the parenchyma of the retina].
