An estimated 95 million people worldwide are affected by cataract. Cataract still remains the leading cause of blindness in middle-income and low-income countries. With the advancement of surgical technology and techniques, cataract surgery has evolved to small-incisional surgery with rapid visual recovery, good visual outcomes, and minimal complications in most patients. With the development of advanced technology in intraocular lenses, the combined treatment of cataract and astigmatism or presbyopia, or both, is possible. Paediatric cataracts have a different pathogenesis, surgical concerns, and postoperative clinical course from those of age-related cataracts, and the visual outcome is multifactorial and dependent on postoperative visual rehabilitation. New developments in cataract surgery will continue to improve the visual, anatomical, and patient-reported outcomes. Future work should focus on promoting the accessibility and quality of cataract surgery in developing countries.

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Optical coherence tomography (OCT) provides non-contact, rapid in vivo imaging of ocular structures, and has become a key part of evaluating the anterior segment of the eye. Over the years, improvements to technology have increased the speed of capture and resolution of images, leading to the increasing impact of anterior segment OCT imaging on clinical practice. In this review, we summarize the historical development of anterior segment OCT, and provide an update on the research and clinical applications of imaging the ocular surface, cornea, anterior chamber structures, aqueous outflow system, and most recently anterior segment vessels. We also describe advancements in anterior segment OCT technology that have improved understanding with greater detail, such as tear film in dry eye disease evaluation, intra-operative real-time imaging for anterior segment surgery, and aqueous outflow with angle assessment for glaucoma. Improvements to image processing and software have also improved the ease and utility of interpreting anterior segment OCT images in everyday clinical practice. Future developments include refinement of assessing vascular networks for the anterior segment, in vivo ultra-high resolution anterior segment optical coherence tomography with histology-like detail, en-face image with 3-dimensional reconstruction as well as functional extensions of the technique.