Abstract

Lipofuscin fluorescence measurements (Delori, 1992) in the fovea of normal subjects and of patients with age-related macular degeneration are affected by macular pigment (MP) absorption. Measurements of MP density are needed to correct the fluorescence data, but also to study the role of this pigment in aging and disease. MP densities have been measured by reflectometry and psychophysics (see Pease et al, 1987 for a literature survey): reflectometry appears to underestimate the MP density (0.1-0.2 D.U, single pass) compared to psychophysical estimates (0.4-0.8 D.U.). In this report we introduce a novel method for MP density determination, based on fundus fluorophotometry, and compare the results of this technique with those obtained by reflectometry.

© 1993 Optical Society of America