Fundus autofluorescence (FAF) is a noninvasive imaging method to detect fundus endogenous fluorophores, mainly lipofuscin located in the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE). The FAF provides information about lipofuscin distribution and RPE health, and consequently an increased accumulation of lipofuscin has been correlated with ageing and development of certain retinal conditions. Areas covered: An exhaustive literature search in MEDLINE (via OVID) and PUBMED for articles related to ocular FAF in retinal diseases and different devices used for acquiring FAF imaging was conducted. Expert commentary: This review aims to show an overview about autofluorescence in the RPE and the main devices used for acquiring these FAF images. The knowledge of differences in the optical principles, acquisition images and the image post-processing between confocal scanning laser ophthalmoscopy and modified conventional fundus camera will improve the FAF images interpretation when are used as a complementary diagnosis and monitoring tool of retinal diseases.
Keywords: Fundus autofluorescence; confocal scanning laser ophthalmoscope; fundus camera; lipofuscin; retinal pigment epithelium.