Automated detection of optic disc and blood vessel in retinal image using morphological, edge detection and feature extraction technique

Reliable, fast and efficient optic disc localization and blood-vessel detection are the primary tasks in computer analyses of retinal image. Most of the existing algorithms suffer due to inconsistent image contrast, varying individual condition, noises and computational complexity. This paper presents an algorithm to automatically detect landmark features of retinal image, such as optic disc and blood vessel. First, optic disc and blood vessel pixels are detected from blue plane of the image. Then, using OD location the vessel pixels are connected. The detection scheme utilizes basic operations like edge detection, binary thresholding and morphological operation. This method was evaluated on standard retinal image databases, such as STARE and DRIVE. Experimental results demonstrate that the high accuracy achieved by the proposed method is comparable to that reported by the most accurate methods in literature, alongside a substantial reduction of execution time. Thus the method may provide a reliable solution in automatic mass screening and diagnosis of the retinal diseases.