A narrative review of retinal vascular parameters and the applications (Part I): Measuring methods

Yuan Gao; Lijun Xu; Ning He; Yuchuan Ding; Wenbo Zhao; Tingting Meng; Ming Li; Jiaqi Wu; Yazeed Haddad; Xuxiang Zhang; Xunming Ji

doi:10.4103/bc.bc_8_23

A narrative review of retinal vascular parameters and the applications (Part I): Measuring methods

Brain Circ. 2023 Sep 27;9(3):121-128. doi: 10.4103/bc.bc_8_23. eCollection 2023 Jul-Sep.

Authors

Yuan Gao^{1

2}, Lijun Xu³, Ning He⁴, Yuchuan Ding⁵, Wenbo Zhao⁶, Tingting Meng², Ming Li⁶, Jiaqi Wu¹, Yazeed Haddad⁵, Xuxiang Zhang⁷, Xunming Ji^{1

6}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing, China.
² Department of Ophthalmology, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
³ School of Instrumentation and Optoelectronic Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing, China.
⁴ Engineering Research Center of Molecular and Neuro Imaging, Ministry of Education, School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China.
⁵ Department of Neurosurgery, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, Michigan, USA.
⁶ Department of Neurology, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
⁷ Department of Ophthalmology, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.

Abstract

The retina is often used to evaluate the vascular health status of eyes and the whole body directly and noninvasively in vivo. Retinal vascular parameters included caliber, tortuosity and fractal dimension. These variables represent the density or geometric characteristics of the vascular network apart from reflecting structural changes in the retinal vessel system. Currently, these parameters are often used as indicators of retinal disease, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease. Advanced digital fundus photography apparatus and computer-assisted analysis techniques combined with artificial intelligence, make the quantitative calculation of these parameters easier, objective, and labor-saving.

Keywords: Caliber; fractal dimension; retina; tortuosity.

Publication types

Review