Three-dimensional optical coherence tomography (3D-OCT) image enhancement with segmentation-free contour modeling...

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Medical Imaging
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Three-dimensional spectral domain optical coherence tomography (3D SD-OCT) is crucial for visualizing retinal structures.
• Retinal layer segmentation is often required but frequently fails in pathological conditions.
• Accurate visualization of structures of interest (SoIs) is essential for diagnosing and monitoring eye diseases.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a semiautomated method for visualizing SoIs along their contour in 3D SD-OCT data.
• To avoid the need for complex retinal layer segmentation.
• To enable visualization in eyes with significant retinal pathology.

Main Methods:

• 3D SD-OCT data were acquired from healthy eyes and eyes with retinal pathology.
• C-mode images were generated by semiautomatically modeling a variable thickness plane to fit the SoI contour.
• The method did not rely on segmentation of retinal layers.

Main Results:

• The C-mode contour modeling successfully visualized choroidal capillary networks (CCN) and major choroidal vasculature (CV) in all imaged eyes.
• Retinal nerve fiber (RNF) and retinal capillary networks (RCN) were visualized in all healthy eyes and in 42.8% of eyes with pathologies.
• Various SoIs were visualized in all eyes with retinal pathology, demonstrating robustness.

Conclusions:

• The proposed C-mode contour modeling offers a clinically useful approach for imaging SoIs.
• This method is particularly valuable in eyes with severe pathologic changes where segmentation algorithms typically fail.
• It provides a viable alternative for visualizing retinal and choroidal vasculature in complex cases.