A semi-automated computer tool for the analysis of retinal vessel diameter dynamics

Retinal vessels are directly accessible to clinical observation. This has numerous potential interests for medical investigations. Using the Retinal Vessel Analyzer, a dedicated eye fundus camera enabling dynamic, video-rate recording of micrometric changes of the diameter of retinal vessels, we developed a semi-automated computer tool that extracts the heart beat rate and pulse amplitude values from the records. The extracted data enabled us to show that there is a decreasing relationship between heart beat rate and pulse amplitude of arteries and veins. Such an approach will facilitate the modeling of hemodynamic interactions in small vessels.