What are traditional diagnosis and monitoring tools for dry AMD?

Fluorescein angiography (FA) is a traditional diagnostic tool that is particularly valuable in assessing dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD). This imaging technique involves injecting a fluorescent dye into the bloodstream, which helps visualize blood flow in the retina, enabling the detection of abnormalities associated with AMD, such as changes in retinal pigment epithelium and the presence of geographic atrophy. While FA is often more associated with wet AMD to identify choroidal neovascularization (CNV), it remains useful in understanding the progression of dry AMD by highlighting changes in retinal health.

The other diagnostic methods mentioned have their roles in the overall assessment of retinal health, but they do not hold the same significance in monitoring dry AMD specifically. For example, while visual field tests focus on peripheral vision and can be useful in evaluating general vision loss, they do not provide direct information on the retina itself. Fundus photography can capture images of retinal structures but lacks the functional insight that FA provides. Ultrasound imaging may offer benefits in examining overall eye structure but is generally not utilized specifically for the diagnosis or monitoring of dry AMD. Thus, fluorescein angiography stands out as the most relevant traditional tool for this purpose.