Retina Consultants of Hawaii (RCH) has a commitment to research and contributing to the scientific community in vitreoretinal disease. Research plays an important role in developing new technology and treatments to better care for our patients.
Dr. Kokame has a particular interest in polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV), a disease that causes decreased central vision. It is a variant of a more commonly known disease, neovascular age related macular degeneration. He has been the lead investigator on a number of investigator sponsored trials in the treatment of PCV at RCH.
Currently, we are witnessing the introduction of a new imaging technology called optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) in ophthalmology. Retina Consultants of Hawaii is the only eye center in Hawaii and one of the first in the nation that has this imaging capability. It images blood flow through both the retinal and choroidal vasculature. There are many advantages to this technique including the decreased time for image acquisition and the absence of a dye injection which is beneficial to the patient. With new imaging technology, diseases need to be redefined.
Dr. Kokame has been leading the research team to study PCV findings on OCTA. In late February he traveled to Miami, Florida to attend The Macula Society’s annual meeting. The Macula Society was founded in 1977 and is a prestigious organization with select membership, committed to furthering research in retinal disease. Dr. Kokame received great feedback for his current project, which did show flow within the PCV vessels between Bruch’s membrane and the retinal pigment epithelium, and also learned about the cutting edge discoveries that are ongoing in retinal disease.
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