Diagnosis of ophthalmologic disordersin retinal fundus images

Abstract

Automated fundus image analysis plays an important role in the computer aided diagnosis of ophthalmologic disorders. A lot of eye disorders, as well as cardiovascular disorders, are known to be related with retinal vasculature changes. Many important eye diseases as well as systemic diseases manifest themselves in the retina. While a number of other anatomical structures contribute to the process of vision, this paper focuses on retinal image analysis and their clinical implications. The most prevalent causes of blindness in the industrialized world are age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, and glaucoma. Retinal exudates are among the preliminary signs of diabetic retinopathy, a major cause of vision loss in diabetic patients. Correct and efficient screening of exudates is very expensive in professional time and may cause human error. Nowadays, the digital retinal image is frequently used to follow-up and diagnoses eye diseases. Therefore, the retinal image is crucial and essential for experts to detect exudates. In age related Macular degeneration, the macula is responsible for the sharp central vision needed for detailed activities such as reading, writing, driving, face recognition and ability to see colors. Age related macular degeneration is degeneration of the macula area and the delicate cells of the macula become inactive and stop working. Unfortunately, age-related macular degeneration cannot be completely cured, but if diagnosed at an early stage degeneration laser treatment can help some people to prevent further deterioration of macula. The algorithm locates disease affected pixels on macula and displays their location. After pre-processing particle analysis tool is applied to locate the effected parts on the fundus image.