Scanning Laser Ophthalmoscopy (SLO)

Since the first scanning laser ophthalmoscope (SLO) was introduced in the early 1980s, this imaging technique has been adapted and optimized for various clinical applications based on different contrast mechanism. Reflectance imaging, where the back scattered light is detected, is widely used for eye tracking and as reference image for OCT applications. But also the reflectance modality itself has several important diagnostic applications: laser scanning tomography (SLT), imaging with different laser wavelengths (Multicolor contrast) and others. Fluorescence imaging channels with different excitation wavelengths were introduced to SLOs for angiography, i.e. for the visualization of the vascular system after intravenously injecting an appropriate dye, as well as for autofluorescence imaging of endogenous fluorophores within the retina.