Modulation of retinal image vasculature analysis to extend utility and provide secondary value from optical coherence tomography imaging

J Med Imaging (Bellingham). 2016 Apr;3(2):020501. doi: 10.1117/1.JMI.3.2.020501. Epub 2016 May 2.

Abstract

Retinal image analysis is emerging as a key source of biomarkers of chronic systemic conditions affecting the cardiovascular system and brain. The rapid development and increasing diversity of commercial retinal imaging systems present a challenge to image analysis software providers. In addition, clinicians are looking to extract maximum value from the clinical imaging taking place. We describe how existing and well-established retinal vasculature segmentation and measurement software for fundus camera images has been modulated to analyze scanning laser ophthalmoscope retinal images generated by the dual-modality Heidelberg SPECTRALIS(®) instrument, which also features optical coherence tomography.

Keywords: image analysis; ophthalmology; retina; scanning laser ophthalmoscope.