OCT instead of MRI

Optical coherence tomography (OCT)

A five-minute eye exam might prove to be an inexpensive and effective way to gauge and track the debilitating neurological disease multiple sclerosis,

The retinal nerve fiber layer is the one part of the brain where nerve cells are not covered with the fat and protein sheathing called myelin, making this assessment specific for nerve damage as opposed to brain MRI changes, which reflect an array of different types of tissue processes in the brain.

Using OCT to scan the back of the eyeball, doctors can “see” the thickness of the nerve cells that extend from the optic nerve and become our retina.These cells are the only nerve cells in the central nervous system (CNS) which have no myelin covering.

“MRI is an imperfect tool that measures the result of many types of tissue loss rather than specifically nerve damage itself. With OCT we can see exactly how healthy these nerves are, potentially in advance of other symptoms.”

But MRI, aside from being expensive and uncomfortable, is often misleading since brain inflammation - also a symptom of the disease - can skew brain volume readings.

http://www.news-medical.net/?id=31252

http://blog.healthtalk.com/multiple-sclerosis/life-with-ms/optical-coherence-tomography-replacement-for-mri/

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a recently developed imaging technique that can generate cross-sectional images of tissue microstructure [9,10]. OCT is analogous to ultrasound, but measures the intensity of infrared light rather than sound