Quantitative analysis of retinal changes in hypertension

Roberto Giansanti; Massimo Boemi; Paolo Fumelli; Giorgio Passerini; Primo Zingaretti

doi:10.1117/12.208726

12 May 1995 Quantitative analysis of retinal changes in hypertension

Roberto Giansanti, Massimo Boemi, Paolo Fumelli, Giorgio Passerini, Primo Zingaretti

Proceedings Volume 2434, Medical Imaging 1995: Image Processing; (1995) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.208726
Event: Medical Imaging 1995, 1995, San Diego, CA, United States

Abstract

Arterial hypertension is a high prevalence disease in Western countries and it is associated with increased risk for cardiovascular accidents. Retinal vessel changes are common findings in patients suffering from long-standing hypertensive disease. Morphological evaluations of the fundus oculi represent a fundamental tool for the clinical approach to the patient with hypertension. A qualitative analysis of the retinal lesions is usually performed and this implies severe limitations both in the classification of the different degrees of the pathology and in the follow-up of the disease. A diagnostic system based on a quantitative analysis of the retinal changes could overcome these problems. Our computerized approach was intended for this scope. The paper concentrates on the results and the implications of a computerized approach to the automatic extraction of numerical indexes describing morphological details of the fundus oculi. A previously developed image processing and recognition system, documented elsewhere and briefly described here, was successfully tested in pre-clinical experiments and applied in the evaluation of normal as well as of pathological fundus. The software system was developed to extract indexes such as caliber and path of vessels, local tortuosity of arteries and arterioles, positions and angles of crossings between two vessels. The reliability of the results, justified by their low variability, makes feasible the standardization of quantitative parameters to be used both in the diagnosis and in the prognosis of hypertension, and also allows prospective studies based upon them.

Citation Download Citation

Roberto Giansanti, Massimo Boemi, Paolo Fumelli, Giorgio Passerini, and Primo Zingaretti "Quantitative analysis of retinal changes in hypertension", Proc. SPIE 2434, Medical Imaging 1995: Image Processing, (12 May 1995); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.208726

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