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Preserving sight with optical coherence tomography

OHSU physician-scientist co-invented OCT—groundbreaking technology that transformed treatment of eye conditions that can cause blindness
David Huang, M.D., Ph.D., (right) demonstrates a structural eye scan with the biomedical imaging technology he co-invented, optical coherence tomography, or OCT, at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, Oregon. (OHSU)
David Huang, M.D., Ph.D., (right) demonstrates a structural eye scan with the biomedical imaging technology he co-invented, optical coherence tomography, or OCT, at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, Oregon. (OHSU)

The biomedical imaging technology known as optical coherence tomography, or OCT, is commonly used to care for people with macular degeneration, glaucoma, diabetic eye disease and other eye conditions that can cause blindness. Co-invented in 1991 by OHSU Casey Eye Institute physician-scientist David Huang, M.D., Ph.D., OCT has transformed the way eye disease is diagnosed, monitored and treated. Today, many patients who currently have, or are at risk for, eye diseases commonly receive OCT scans as part of routine exams. Noninvasive OCT scans use an invisible beam of infrared light and provide a detailed, 3D view inside the eye. OCT is also used to map and measure flow in the eye’s tiny blood vessels, which become damaged with some eye diseases. Beyond the eye, OCT is also used for health conditions involving the heart, skin, esophagus, stomach and intestines. For example, cardiologists increasingly use OCT to evaluate plaque buildup in arteries and to help place stents inside blocked arteries. Huang and his colleagues continue to advance and refine OCT technology at the OHSU Center for Ophthalmic Optics & Lasers. Huang received the 2023 Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award for co-inventing this technology.

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