Abstract

Study Design: Prospective study. Purpose: To study whether OCT may be used to image the punctum and proximal canaliculus. Methods: Spectral OCT images of the lower punctae were captured with a Topcon 3D OCT machine. Measurements were made of the maximal punctal diameter, canalicular diameter and canalicular depth. Results: 108 punctae of 56 subjects were scanned. The punctum was recognisable on the OCT image in all cases. The mean depth, width and cross-sectional area of the visualised canaliculi. Discussion: We have demonstrated the in-vivo high-resolution images of normal punctal and vertical canalicular anatomy using spectral OCT. There is currently no other practical way to accurately image punctal and proximal canalicular morphology in vivo. OCT is a convenient and readily available tool in most eye clinics with resolution ideally suited for imaging of the punctum and proximal canaliculus and its pathology.