Detection of the optic disc in fundus images by combining probability models

In this paper, we propose a combination method for the automatic detection of the optic disc (OD) in fundus images based on ensembles of individual algorithms. We have studied and adapted some of the state-of-the-art OD detectors and finally organized them into a complex framework in order to maximize the accuracy of the localization of the OD. The detection of the OD can be considered as a single-object detection problem. This object can be localized with high accuracy by several algorithms extracting single candidates for the center of the OD and the final location can be defined using a single majority voting rule. To include more information to support the final decision, we can use member algorithms providing more candidates which can be ranked based on the confidence ordered by the algorithms. In this case, a spatial weighted graph is defined where the candidates are considered as its nodes, and the final OD position is determined in terms of finding a maximum-weighted clique. Now, we examine how to apply in our ensemble-based framework all the accessible information supplied by the member algorithms by making them return confidence values for each image pixel. These confidence values inform us about the probability that a given pixel is the center point of the object. We apply axiomatic and Bayesian approaches, as in the case of aggregation of judgments of experts in decision and risk analysis, to combine these confidence values. According to our experimental study, the accuracy of the localization of OD increases further. Besides single localization, this approach can be adapted for the precise detection of the boundary of the OD. Comparative experimental results are also given for several publicly available datasets.