A Method for Peripapillary Retinal Vessel Tortuosity Measurement and Its Clinical Correspondence

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Medical Imaging
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Retinal vessel tortuosity is a clinical indicator for various diseases, including retinal conditions and intracranial hypertension.
• Current qualitative assessments lack precision, necessitating quantitative and reproducible measurement methods.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce a novel method for the quantitative measurement of peripapillary retinal vessel tortuosity (RVT).
• To establish a quantitative approach based on the first-order derivative of vessel centerlines.

Main Methods:

• Retinal vessel segmentation and centerline extraction were performed.
• The first-order derivative of vessel centerlines was calculated to determine RVT.
• Validation involved simulated sinusoidal vessels and comparison with clinical assessments and curvature-based methods.

Main Results:

• The RVT method demonstrated high interobserver reproducibility (ICC = 0.92).
• RVT measurements effectively differentiated between healthy and pathological vessels (P < 0.001).
• RVT ranking showed excellent agreement with clinical evaluations and curvature-based methods (ICC ≥ 0.88).

Conclusions:

• The developed method provides quantitative and reproducible measurements of retinal vessel tortuosity.
• This technique shows potential for detecting and monitoring tortuosity changes in ocular and systemic diseases.
• Accurate RVT measurement can improve clinical care by aiding in the management of various disorders.