Fractal analysis of neovascularization due to diabetic retinopathy in retinal fundus images

Abstract

This study focuses on detecting and classifying neovascularization caused by proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) in retinal fundus images. Image processing methods were applied to detect retinal vessels. A fractal analysis approach based on the box-counting method was used to quantify vascular patterns in normal and abnormal cases showing neovascularization near the optic disk (NVD). Ten images including five normal cases and five neovascularization cases were analyzed. The mean fractal dimension obtained for the NVD cases was 1.66 compared to the mean value of 1.52 for the normal cases. The statistical significance of the difference was high, with a p-value of 0.0088. The results show promise for use in detecting neovascularization in retinal images caused by PDR.