A benchmark study of automated intra-retinal cyst segmentation algorithms using optical coherence tomography B-scans.

(BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES): Retinal cysts are formed by accumulation of fluid in the retina caused by leakages from inflammation or vitreous fractures. Analysis of the retinal cystic spaces holds significance in detection and treatment of several ocular diseases like age-related macular degeneration, diabetic macular edema etc. Thus, segmentation of intra-retinal cysts and quantification of cystic spaces are vital for retinal pathology and severity detection. In the recent years, automated segmentation of intra-retinal cysts using optical coherence tomography B-scans has gained significant importance in the field of retinal image analysis. The objective of this paper is to compare different intra-retinal cyst segmentation algorithms for comparative analysis and benchmarking purposes. (METHODS): In this work, we employ a modular approach for standardizing the different segmentation algorithms. Further, we analyze the variations in automated cyst segmentation performances and method scalability across image acquisition systems by using the publicly available cyst segmentation challenge dataset (OPTIMA cyst segmentation challenge). (RESULTS): Several key automated methods are comparatively analyzed using quantitative and qualitative experiments. Our analysis demonstrates the significance of variations in signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), retinal layer morphology and post-processing steps on the automated cyst segmentation processes. (CONCLUSION): This benchmarking study provides insights towards the scalability of automated processes across vendor-specific imaging modalities to provide guidance for retinal pathology diagnostics and treatment processes.

Enhancement and bias removal of optical coherence tomography images: An iterative approach with adaptive bilateral filtering.

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) has continually evolved and expanded as one of the most valuable routine tests in ophthalmology. However, noise (speckle) in the acquired images causes quality degradation of OCT images and makes it difficult to analyze the acquired images. In this paper, an iterative approach based on bilateral filtering is proposed for speckle reduction in multiframe OCT data. Gamma noise model is assumed for the observed OCT image. First, the adaptive version of the conventional bilateral filter is applied to enhance the multiframe OCT data and then the bias due to noise is reduced from each of the filtered frames. These unbiased filtered frames are then refined using an iterative approach. Finally, these refined frames are averaged to produce the denoised OCT image. Experimental results on phantom images and real OCT retinal images demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed filter.