How is age-related macular degeneration diagnosed?

In addition to vision testing and examination of your eye, your eye doctor will need to photograph your retinas to see what damage, if any, macular degeneration has caused.

As well as confirming the diagnosis, the images will prove useful in planning your treatment. There are several different ways of taking pictures of the retina, which includes:

Fundus photography - A fundus camera is a special camera used to take photographs of the inside of your eye.

OCT scan - uses special rays of light to scan your retina and produce an image of it. This can provide detailed information about your macula. For example, it will tell your ophthalmologist whether your macula is thickened or abnormal, and whether any fluid has leaked into the retina.

Less commonly Fluorescein angiography and Indocyanine green (ICG) angiography – involves taking photograph of the retina with special contrast in the vein of the arm.