ULTRASOUND BIOMICROSCOPY: High-Frequency Ultrasound Imaging of the Eye at Microscopic Resolution

The use of ultrasound frequencies in the 40 to 100 MHz range is a relatively new development in ultrasound imaging of the eye. This technique has been developed in our laboratories over the past several years. We have progressed from the theoretical description of the basic science required, past the first in vitro experiments in eye bank eyes, to the construction of an instrument capable of clinical use. We have gained a broad clinical experience with this instrument in normal patients and patients with ocular disease. We have applied the term ultrasound biomicroscopy (UBM) to this technique because of similarities to optical biomicroscopy (i.e., the observation of living tissue at microscopic resolution). In this article we summarize the theoretical basis for our technology and illustrate the clinical application of this tool in clinical ophthalmology and ophthalmologic research.

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