Comparison of pixel and subpixel retinal vessel tree segmentation using a deformable contour model

Abstract

This paper presents a comparison of pixel and subpixel performance of the snake-based system designed to detect the vessel tree in eye fundus images. The automatic analysis of the retinal vessel tree facilitates the computation of the arteriovenous index, which is essential for the diagnosis and evolution of several eye diseases. A high accuracy is required to correctly assess the clinicians and it is insufficient when working at a pixel level. The developed model is inspired in the classical snake but incorporating domain specific knowledge and profits from the automatic localization of the optic disc and from the extraction of vascular tree centerlines previously developed in our research group [1]. The efficiency and accuracy of the detection of arteriovenous structures are evaluated using the publicly available DRIVE database and an equivalent system configuration for pixel and subpixel results. Results demonstrate that, although more time consuming, subpixel retinal vessel extraction is much more reliable, keeping relatively low values of computing time. © 2008 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.