Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) affects millions of people and is a leading cause
of blindness throughout the world. Ideally, affected individuals would be identified at an early
stage before late sequelae such as outer retinal atrophy or exudative neovascular
membranes develop, which could produce irreversible visual loss. Early identification could
allow patients to be staged and appropriate monitoring intervals to be established. Accurate
staging of earlier AMD stages could also facilitate the development of new preventative …