Heidelberg Retinal Tomography
Heidelberg retinal tomography (HRT) is a computerised diagnostic procedure used to image the optic nerve and retina. HRT uses a non-thermal laser scanned at varying depths at the back of the eye. The data obtained from these scans are then reconstructed to provide a representative image of the structure of interest.
HRT is most commonly used in the diagnosis and monitoring of glaucoma by detecting the presence of optic nerve and/or retinal nerve fibre layer damage and whether this has changed over time. It may also be used as part of the assessment for retinopathies such as age-related macular degeneration (deterioration of the centre of retina) and diabetic retinopathy (complication of diabetes that causes damage of retina and loss of vision).