Developing a 10-Layer Retinal Segmentation for MacTel Using Semi-Supervised Learning

Automated segmentation software in optical coherence tomography (OCT) devices is usually developed for and primarily tested on common diseases. Therefore segmentation accuracy of automated software can be limited in eyes with rare pathologies.

We sought to develop a semisupervised deep learning segmentation model that segments 10 retinal layers and four retinal features in eyes with Macular Telangiectasia Type II (MacTel) using a small labeled dataset by leveraging unlabeled images. We compared our model against popular supervised and semisupervised models, as well as conducted ablation studies on the model itself.

Our model significantly outperformed all other models in terms of intersection over union on the 10 retinal layers and two retinal features in the test dataset. For the remaining two features, the pre-retinal space above the internal limiting membrane and the background below the retinal pigment epithelium, all of the models performed similarly. Furthermore, we showed that using more unlabeled images improved the performance of our semisupervised model.

Our model improves segmentation performance over supervised models by leveraging unlabeled data. This approach has the potential to improve segmentation performance for other diseases, where labeled data is limited but unlabeled data abundant.

Improving automated segmentation of MacTel pathology on OCT imaging by leveraging unlabeled data may enable more accurate assessment of disease progression, and this approach may be useful for improving feature identification and location on OCT in other rare diseases as well.