INDOCYANINE GREEN FLUORESCENCE ANGIOGRAPHY

Abstract

Indocyanine green (ICG) fluorescence angiography has been further refined for use in both laboratory and clinical investigations. In the present modification of the Zeiss fundus camera all lenses except the aspherical objective lens have been specially antireflection coated to increase light transmission in the spectral region around 800 nm. A 300 watt indium iodide lamp continuous light source has replaced the conventional xenon flash lamp. This light source produces a retinal irradiance of 265 mw, and therefore restricts retinal exposure time to 11.9 seconds, but that time is more than adequate to record passage of dye through the choroid. Spatial resolution of the fundus on the film has been increased from 11.7 microns to 7.4 microns. With these technical refinements the choroidal circulation can be studied at 20 frames per second, which is adequate to document the very rapid movement of blood through the vasculature. ICG angiography may change our interpretations of choroidal circulatory phenomena which are now based on fluorescein angiography, and it clearly is an effective tool in laboratory (experimental) investigations.