Age-related Macular Degeneration Diagnosis | Singapore National Eye Centre

Age-related Macular Degeneration - Diagnosis

The early stages of AMD usually start without symptoms. A comprehensive dilated eye examination is needed to diagnose AMD. The eye examination may include the following:

Amsler Grid
Your ophthalmologist may ask you to look at an Amsler grid. Changes in your central vision may cause the lines in the grid to disappear or appear wavy, a key sign of AMD. This is also used to monitor patients at home for progression or recurrence of disease.

Normal Vision Amsler Grid - Age-related Macular Degeneration
Normal Vision

Vision impaired by Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD)

Hold the Amsler grid below at eye level at a comfortable reading distance. If you wear reading lenses, wear them during this test. Cover one eye at a time and focus on the dot in the centre. If you see wavy or fuzzy lines, or if certain squares are missing or appear blurred, you may be displaying symptoms of Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD).

Fundus Fluorescein Angiogram (FFA) and Indocyanine Green Angiogram (ICG)
In this test, a fluorescent dye is injected into a vein in your arm. Over the next few minutes, photographs are taken of the blood vessels in your eye as the dye passes through. This helps to highlight abnormal or "leaky" blood vessels, which occur in the "wet" type of AMD. Uncommonly, complications due to the dye injection can arise, such as nausea, or in very rare cases, severe allergic reactions or heart problems.

Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT)
OCT is similar to an ultrasound scan, except that the latter uses sound waves to capture images of living tissues. OCT uses light waves instead, and can capture very detailed, cross-sectional images of the retina and other tissues in the eye. OCT imaging is fast, convenient and non-invasive. You will be asked to place your head on a chin rest and hold still for several seconds while the images are obtained. The light beam used is painless, and unlike X-rays, does not involve any radiation.

Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography (OCT-A)
In some cases, the blood vessels in the retina can be examined with OCT-A. Based on the same technology as OCT, OCT-A uses light waves to capture very detailed images of blood vessels in the eye. OCT-A does not require any fluorescent dye injection, and also does not involve any radiation.