Abstract

Info

Title:: Measurement of retinal vessel diameter using Gaussian process and Radon transform

Author(s):: LUO Zhongliang; JIA Yingbiao; School of Information Engineering, Shaoguan University, Shaoguan 512005, China

Keywords:: retinal vessel diameter measurement fundus image Gaussian process Radon transform

Abstract:: The abnormal changes of retinal vessel diameter are closely associated with the development of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases such as diabetes and hypertension. Therefore, the extraction of retinal vessel information in fundus images is significant for computer-aided analysis and diagnosis of related diseases. Herein a novel method for the measurement of retinal vessel diameter is presented. After fundus image preprocessing, Gaussian process and Radon transform are used to track the center lines and directions of retinal vessel, and then the retinal vessel diameter is estimated using two-dimensional Gaussian process regression technology. The fundus image databases of DRIVE and STARE are used for testing. The results reveal that whether for approximately linear vessel segments with small curvature, curved vessel segments with large curvature, or vessel segments with changes in diameter, the proposed method can measure the retinal vessel diameter efficiently, with low standard deviation and high operation speed.