An improved system for the automatic estimation of the Arteriolar-to-Venular diameter Ratio (AVR) in retinal images

The Arteriolar-to-Venular diameter Ratio (AVR), a parameter derived from vessel caliber measurements in a specific region of retinal images, is used as a descriptor of generalized arteriolar narrowing, an eye fundus sign often seen in patients affected by hypertensive or diabetic retinopathies. We developed an improved system to compute AVR in a totally automatic way. Images are at first enhanced to highlight the vessel network, which is then traced by a vessel tracking algorithm. From the detected vessel structure, the position of the optic disc is derived and the region inside which the AVR data are to be measured is determined. Vessels within this region are classified as either arteries or veins, their caliber is estimated and the AVR parameter is eventually computed. Improvements with respect to the previous version are related to post-processing algorithms to enhance vessel tracking and a totally new artery/vein discrimination technique. Results provided by the new system have been compared with manually derived AVR values on 20 eye fundus images, resulting in a final correlation coefficient of 0.88.