Diagnostic techniques: Autofluorescence

Autofluorescence is a relatively new, noninvasive diagnostic tool recently introduced in the armamentarium of intraocular tumor diagnosis and characterization. This technique may reveal the effects of choroidal tumors on the overlying retinal pigment epithelium and may also provide specific information on intrinsic pigments that compose and characterize benign and malignant, congenital and acquired chorioretinal lesions. Lipofuscin, melanin, and melanolipofuscin strongly influence the different autofluorescence patterns of chorioretinal tumors, but other pigments may theoretically influence the autofluorescence pattern of these lesions. In this chapter we review the role of autofluorescence in the diagnosis of benign and malignant chorioretinal. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2014.