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Updated: Oct 3, 2025
Transcutaneous Microcirculatory Imaging in Preterm Neonates
Published on: December 31, 2015
Computer-Aided Detection of Retinopathy of Prematurity Severity in Preterm Infants via Measurement of Temporal Vessel
Yo-Ping Huang1,2,3, Spandana Vadloori1, Eugene Yu-Chuan Kang4,5
1Department of Electrical Engineering, National Taipei University of Technology, Taipei, Taiwan.
Insights
Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) detection can be improved by analyzing retinal blood vessel angles and widths. Changes in temporal artery and vein angles and widths correlate with ROP severity, aiding early diagnosis.
Area of Science:
- Ophthalmology
- Medical Imaging
- Computational Biology
Background:
- Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is a leading cause of preventable childhood blindness.
- Early detection and treatment of ROP are crucial for preserving vision.
- Manual screening for ROP is time-consuming and resource-intensive.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between retinal blood vessel geometry and ROP severity.
- To computationally analyze temporal artery and vein angles and widths in ROP patients.
- To explore the potential of these features for early ROP detection and monitoring.
Main Methods:
- Utilized computational methods to determine temporal artery angle (TAA) and temporal vein angle (TVA).
- Applied the Radon transform method to estimate temporal artery width (TAW) and temporal vein width (TVW) from fundus images.
- Correlated these quantitative vessel features with different stages of ROP.
Main Results:
- Significant decreases in TAA and TVA were observed with increasing ROP severity (P < 0.0001).
- Significant increases in TAW and TVW were found as ROP severity progressed (P < 0.0001).
- Positive correlations were found between TAA-TVA and TAW-TVW, and a negative correlation between TAA and TAW (P < 0.0314).
Conclusions:
- Retinal vessel geometry, specifically angles and widths in the temporal quadrants, shows a strong association with ROP severity.
- These quantifiable features may serve as valuable biomarkers for the early detection and progression assessment of ROP.
- Computer-aided analysis of retinal vessels offers a promising approach to support ophthalmologists in managing ROP.
Abstract:
Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is a retinal disorder that occurs in preterm infants with low birth weight and is the leading cause of preventable blindness in children. Early identification of high-risk patients and early diagnosis and timely treatment of ROP can substantially improve patients' visual outcomes. However, manual screening consumes both time and resources. Telescreening using retinal fundus images has the potential to reduce the burden engendered by the necessity of on-site screening. Recently, substantial progress has been made in using computer-aided diagnosis with retinal fundus images, and this approach has attracted considerable attention for the diagnosis of eye diseases. Abnormalities of and alterations in retinal blood vessels may relate to the occurrence and progression of ROP. In this study, we examined the hypothesis that ROP severity may be associated with the angle and width of arteries and veins. We computationally determined the artery-artery and vein-vein angles in the temporal quadrants-the temporal artery angle (TAA) and temporal vein angle (TVA)-under normal conditions and in different ROP stages. We also estimated retinal vessel width-temporal artery width (TAW) and temporal vein width (TVW)-by applying the Radon transform method to fundus images. Our results revealed significant decreases in TAA and TVA and increases in TAW and TVW with increasing ROP severity (all P < 0.0001).In addition, we observed positive TAA-TVA and TAW-TVW correlations (both P < 0.0001). The TAA was negatively correlated with the TAW (r = -0.162, P = 0.0314). These retinal vessel features may be useful in assisting ophthalmologists in the early detection of ROP and its progression.
