Multiple ocular diseases detection based on joint sparse multi-task learning.

In this paper, we present a multiple ocular diseases detection scheme based on joint sparse multi-task learning. Glaucoma, Pathological Myopia (PM), and Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD) are three major causes of vision impairment and blindness worldwide. The proposed joint sparse multitask learning framework aims to reconstruct a test fundus image with multiple features from as few training subjects as possible.

Sparse dissimilarity-constrained coding for glaucoma screening.

Objective: Glaucoma is an irreversible chronic eye disease that leads to vision loss. As it can be slowed down through treatment, detecting the disease in time is important. However, many patients are unaware of the disease because it progresses slowly without easily noticeable symptoms.

Automatic retinal interest evaluation system (ARIES).

In recent years, there has been increasing interest in the use of automatic computer-based systems for the detection of eye diseases such as glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy. However, in practice, retinal image quality is a big concern as automatic systems without consideration of degraded image quality will likely generate unreliable results. In this paper, an automatic retinal image quality assessment system (ARIES) is introduced to assess both image quality of the whole image and focal regions of interest.

Automatic nuclear cataract grading using image gradients.

This paper deals with automatic grading of nuclear cataract (NC) from slit-lamp images in order to reduce the efforts in traditional manual grading. Existing works on this topic have mostly used brightness and color of the eye lens for the task but not the visibility of lens parts. The main contribution of this paper is in utilizing the visibility cue by proposing gray level image gradient-based features for automatic grading of NC.

Superpixel classification based optic cup segmentation.

In this paper, we propose a superpixel classification based optic cup segmentation for glaucoma detection. In the proposed method, each optic disc image is first over-segmented into superpixels. Then mean intensities, center surround statistics and the location features are extracted from each superpixel to classify it as cup or non-cup.

Integrating research, clinical practice and translation: the Singapore experience.

We introduce the experiences of the Singapore ocular imaging team, iMED, in integrating image processing and computer-aided diagnosis research with clinical practice and knowledge, towards the development of ocular image processing technologies for clinical usage with potential impact. In this paper, we outline key areas of research with their corresponding image modalities, as well as providing a systematic introduction of the datasets used for validation.

Self-assessment for optic disc segmentation.

Optic disc segmentation from retinal fundus image is a fundamental but important step in many applications such as automated glaucoma diagnosis. Very often, one method might work well on many images but fail on some other images and it is difficult to have a single method or model to cover all scenarios. Therefore, it is important to combine results from several methods to minimize the risk of failure.

Validity of a new optic disc grading software for use in clinical and epidemiological research.

Background: To determine the reliability and agreement of a new optic disc grading software program for use in clinical, epidemiological research.

Design: Reliability and agreement study.

Samples: 328 monoscopic and 85 stereoscopic optic disc images.

Automatic glaucoma diagnosis through medical imaging informatics.

Background: Computer-aided diagnosis for screening utilizes computer-based analytical methodologies to process patient information. Glaucoma is the leading irreversible cause of blindness. Due to the lack of an effective and standard screening practice, more than 50% of the cases are undiagnosed, which prevents the early treatment of the disease.

Superpixel classification based optic disc and optic cup segmentation for glaucoma screening.

Glaucoma is a chronic eye disease that leads to vision loss. As it cannot be cured, detecting the disease in time is important. Current tests using intraocular pressure (IOP) are not sensitive enough for population based glaucoma screening.

Automatic detection of the macula in retinal fundus images using seeded mode tracking approach.

The macula is the part of the eye responsible for central high acuity vision. Detection of the macula is an important task in retinal image processing as a landmark for subsequent disease assessment, such as for age-related macula degeneration. In this paper, we have presented an approach to automatically determine the macula centre in retinal fundus images.

Sector-based optic cup segmentation with intensity and blood vessel priors.

The optic cup segmentation is critical for automated cup-to-disk ratio measurement, and hence computer-aided diagnosis of glaucoma. In this paper, we propose a novel sector-based method for optic cup segmentation. The method comprises two parts: intensity-based cup segmentation with shape constraints and blood vessel-based refinement.

Superpixel classification for initialization in model based optic disc segmentation.

Optic disc segmentation in retinal fundus image is important in ocular image analysis and computer aided diagnosis. Because of the presence of peripapillary atrophy which affects the deformation, it is important to have a good initialization in deformable model based optic disc segmentation. In this paper, a superpixel classification based method is proposed for the initialization.

Efficient optic cup localization using regional propagation based on retinal structure priors.

We present a regional propagation approach based on retinal structure priors to localize the optic cup in 2D fundus images, which is the primary image component clinically used for identifying glaucoma. This method provides three major contributions. First, it proposes processing of the fundus images at the superpixel level, which leads to more descriptive and effective features than those employed by pixel based techniques, without additional computational cost.

An ensembling approach for optic cup detection based on spatial heuristic analysis in retinal fundus images.

Optic cup detection remains a challenging task in retinal image analysis, and is of particular importance for glaucoma evaluation, where disease severity is often assessed by the size of the optic cup. In this paper, we propose spatial heuristic ensembling (SHE), an approach which aims to fuse the advantages of each method based on the specific performance in each defined sector. In this way, we generate an ensembled optic cup which is obtained from the optimal combination of the component methods.

MRMR optimized classification for automatic glaucoma diagnosis.

Min-Redundancy Max-Relevance (mRMR) is a feature selection methodology based on information theory. We explore the mRMR principle for automatic glaucoma diagnosis. Optimal candidate feature sets are acquired from a composition of clinical screening data and retinal fundus image data.

Automatic optic disc segmentation with peripapillary atrophy elimination.

Optic disc segmentation from retinal fundus image is a fundamental but important step for automatic glaucoma diagnosis. In this paper, an optic disc segmentation method is proposed based on peripapillary atrophy elimination. The elimination is done through edge filtering, constraint elliptical Hough transform and peripapillary atrophy detection.

Model-based optic nerve head segmentation on retinal fundus images.

The optic nerve head (optic disc) plays an important role in the diagnosis of retinal diseases. Automatic localization and segmentation of the optic disc is critical towards a good computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) system. In this paper, we propose a method that combines edge detection, the Circular Hough Transform and a statistical deformable model to detect the optic disc from retinal fundus images.

Learning in glaucoma genetic risk assessment.

Genome Wide Association (GWA) studies are powerful tools to identify genes involved in common human diseases, and are becoming increasingly important in genetic epidemiology research. However, the statistical approaches behind GWA studies lack capability in taking into account the possible interactions among genetic markers; and true disease variants may be lost in statistical noise due to high threshold. A typical GWA study reports a few highly suspected signals, e.

Closed angle glaucoma detection in RetCam images.

Closed/Open angle glaucoma classification is important for glaucoma diagnosis. RetCam is a new imaging modality that captures the image of iridocorneal angle for the classification. However, manual grading and analysis of the RetCam image is subjective and time consuming.