Continuous-wavelet-transform analysis of the multifocal ERG waveform in glaucoma diagnosis

Med Biol Eng Comput. 2015 Sep;53(9):771-80. doi: 10.1007/s11517-015-1287-6. Epub 2015 Apr 8.

Abstract

The vast majority of multifocal electroretinogram (mfERG) signal analyses to detect glaucoma study the signals' amplitudes and latencies. The purpose of this paper is to investigate application of wavelet analysis of mfERG signals in diagnosis of glaucoma. This analysis method applies the continuous wavelet transform (CWT) to the signals, using the real Morlet wavelet. CWT coefficients resulting from the scale of maximum correlation are used as inputs to a neural network, which acts as a classifier. mfERG recordings are taken from the eyes of 47 subjects diagnosed with chronic open-angle glaucoma and from those of 24 healthy subjects. The high sensitivity in the classification (0.894) provides reliable detection of glaucomatous sectors, while the specificity achieved (0.844) reflects accurate detection of healthy sectors. The results obtained in this paper improve on the previous findings reported by the authors using the same visual stimuli and database.

Keywords: Continuous wavelet transform; Glaucoma; Multifocal ERG; Neural network.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Case-Control Studies
  • Confidence Intervals
  • Electroretinography*
  • Female
  • Glaucoma / diagnosis*
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted
  • Time Factors
  • Wavelet Analysis*