Optimal segmentation of the optic nerve head from stereo retinal images

Early detection of glaucoma is essential to minimizing the risk of visual loss. It has been shown that a good predictor of glaucoma is the cup-to-disc ratio of the optic nerve head. This paper presents a highly automated method to segment the 'rim' (disc) and 'cup' from the optic nerve head in stereo images and calculate the cup-to-disc ratio. In this approach, the optic nerve head is unwrapped in polar coordinates and represented as a graph. Utilizing a novel and efficient graph searching technique for determining globally optimal closed-paths and an intelligent cost function, the rim and the cup are segmented from the stereo images. The results offer a more intuitive quantitative analysis compared to current planimetry-based techniques because the ophthalmologist can view the segmented images along with the derived cup-to-disc ratio.

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