Comparing the Optovue OCT platforms
Five instruments, one manufacturer, and a price range wide enough that the choice is rarely obvious. The table below is the measured part of the decision. The section under it is the part that usually decides it.
Side by side
Measured quantities only. What each instrument does and does not have is in the next section, because a table cannot tell the difference between a figure a manufacturer has not published and a feature an instrument does not have.
Scroll the table sideways to see every column. The row labels stay put.
| Specification | Optovue Solix OCT/OCT-AOptovue | Optovue Solix EssentialOptovue | Optovue iVue 80Optovue | Optovue iFusion 80Optovue | Optovue iScan 80Optovue |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Technology | Spectral Domain OCT (~840 nm) | Spectral Domain OCT (~840 nm) | Spectral Domain OCT (~840 nm) | Spectral Domain OCT (~840 nm) | Spectral Domain OCT |
| Scan speed | 120,000 A-scans/second | 120,000 A-scans/second | 80,000 A-scans/second | 80,000 A-scans/second | 80,000 A-scans/second |
| Axial resolution | 5 µm (in tissue) | 5 µm (in tissue) | 5 µm (in tissue) | 5.0 µm (in tissue) | 5.0 µm (in tissue) |
| Transverse resolution | 15 µm (in tissue) | 15 µm (in tissue) | 15 µm | 15 µm (retina) | 15 µm (retina) |
| Scan depth | 3 mm standard / 6.25 mm FullRange | Up to 3 mm (regular mode) | 2 – 2.3 mm (retina) | Not published | 2–2.3 mm (retina) |
| Minimum pupil size | ≥2.0 mm | ≥2.0 mm | ≥2.0 mm | ≥2.5 mm | 2 mm |
| Dioptric range | −15D to +15D | −15D to +15D | Not published | Not published | Not published |
| Connectivity | DICOM MWL & storage, NetVue Pro (up to 10 workstations) | DICOM MWL & storage, NetVue Pro (up to 10 workstations) | DICOM compatible | DICOM compatible | DICOM compatible; 1 Gbps network or higher |
What separates them
One paragraph per instrument, taken from its own product page. Each names a real alternative instead of listing features again.
Optovue Solix OCT/OCT-A
Most of the price difference against the Solix Essential is the extended FullRange anterior depth. If you are not doing angle analysis or IOL planning, the Essential runs the same 120K engine, the same OCT-A and the same segmentation for less. Note also that the integrated fundus camera needs a ≥4.0 mm pupil (≥3.3 mm in small pupil mode) even though the OCT works at ≥2.0 mm.
Optovue Solix Essential
If angle analysis or IOL planning is part of your week, the FullRange depth on the flagship is the reason to spend the difference. If it is not, this is the same instrument for the work you actually do.
Optovue iVue 80
This is OCT only; there is no fundus camera. If you want both in one footprint, that is the iFusion 80 - the same instrument with the iCam 12 fitted. Because the camera can be added later, buying the iVue 80 first is a staging decision rather than a different instrument. Against the Solix Essential, the difference is the scan engine: 80K versus 120K, and no OCT-A.
Optovue iFusion 80
There are three ways to arrive here and only one of them is a different instrument. If you already own a fundus camera you are happy with, the iVue 80 alone gives you the same OCT and nothing you do not need. If you want the camera eventually but not this year, buy the iVue 80 and add the iCam 12 later - Visionix sells the camera as an addition and the combination is what the iFusion is. And if you want both now, this is that, in one footprint and one purchase. What the combined unit buys you is room space and a single positioning of the patient, not image quality a separate camera could not match.
Optovue iScan 80
It comes in two configurations. Essential covers iWellness plus basic retina and glaucoma scans, which suits a first OCT. Comprehensive adds retina mapping, RNFL and GCC trend analysis, FLV%/GLV%, high-density 3D retinal imaging, 3D optic nerve head analysis and Cornea Advance. Buying Essential when you needed Comprehensive means upgrading twice. Confirm the clinical configuration now.
Where these figures come from
Every figure below comes from the manufacturer’s own published materials, linked here so you can check any of them. Nothing is estimated or filled in to complete a row: where a manufacturer does not publish a number, the table says so. Configurations change, so I will confirm the current details before you order.
- Optovue Solix OCT/OCT-A: Optovue and Visionix, reviewed 2026-09-05
- Optovue Solix Essential: Optovue and Visionix, reviewed 2026-09-05
- Optovue iVue 80: Optovue and Visionix, reviewed 2026-09-05
- Optovue iFusion 80: Optovue and Visionix, reviewed 2026-09-05
- Optovue iScan 80: Optovue and Visionix, reviewed 2026-09-05
Physical dimensions are left out on purpose. The iVue 80 publishes a Dimensions figure that is character-identical to the iFusion 80’s Table Dimensions, so one of the two labels is wrong at the manufacturer and choosing between them would put a number here that no source supports.
Where the labels differ
Manufacturers do not use one vocabulary across one product line, let alone across four. Every row above where two instruments publish the same quantity under different names is listed here with the reason, so the alignment can be checked, not taken on trust.
- Technology: The iFusion 80 prefixes its OCT rows because the same specification sheet also carries iCam 12 fundus rows.
- Scan speed: Same prefix reason as Technology.
- Axial resolution: Same prefix reason as Technology.
- Transverse resolution: The Solix Essential brochure says “Lateral” where the Solix brochure says “Transverse”. Same manufacturer, same measurement, two words, aliased here rather than shown as two half-empty rows.
- Minimum pupil size: The Solix publishes an OCT pupil minimum and a separate, larger fundus camera minimum; the OCT figure is the one comparable to the other four. The iScan 80 sheet spells the same field out in full.
Configurations and specifications change. Ask me to confirm before ordering.
Talk it through with me
Tell me how your practice handles this now and what you want it to do, and we can work through the options together. You do not need to have settled on a product first.