Qualitative and quantitative comparison of two semi-manual retinal vascular density analyzing methods on optical coherence tomography angiography images of healthy individuals
Abstract The aim of this study was to evaluate qualitative and quantitative differences in vascular density analysis of an established and a novel alternative for post-processing on optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) images in healthy individuals. OCTA examinations of 38 subjects were p...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2023-10-01
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| Series: | Scientific Reports |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-44234-z |
| _version_ | 1797559532770033664 |
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| author | Orsolya Angeli Dorottya Hajdu Aniko Jeney Balint Czifra Balazs Vince Nagy Tamas Balazs Dora Jakaboczkine Nemoda Gabor Mark Somfai Zoltan Z. Nagy Tunde Peto Miklos Schneider |
| author_facet | Orsolya Angeli Dorottya Hajdu Aniko Jeney Balint Czifra Balazs Vince Nagy Tamas Balazs Dora Jakaboczkine Nemoda Gabor Mark Somfai Zoltan Z. Nagy Tunde Peto Miklos Schneider |
| author_sort | Orsolya Angeli |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract The aim of this study was to evaluate qualitative and quantitative differences in vascular density analysis of an established and a novel alternative for post-processing on optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) images in healthy individuals. OCTA examinations of 38 subjects were performed. After extracting the images, two semi-manual post-processing techniques, the already established Mexican hat filtering (MHF) and an alternative, the Shanbhag thresholding (ST) were applied. We assessed Vessel Density (VD), Skeleton Density (SkD) and Vessel Diameter Index (VDI). We analyzed the results in order to establish similarities or potentially relevant differences. Regarding SkD and VD, MHF generally gave higher values than ST. Simultaneously, mean values were also predominantly higher by MHF; however, standard deviations (SD) were higher by ST (range [mean ± SD]: 0.054 ± 0.038 to 0.134 ± 0.01 and 0.134 ± 0.095 to 0.362 ± 0.028 vs 0.012 ± 0.014 to 0.087 ± 0.03 and 0.039 ± 0.047 to 0.4 ± 0.095 for SkD and VD with MHF vs SkD and VD with ST, respectively). Values of VDI were considerably higher with ST than with MHF, while standard deviation was still significantly higher with ST (range [mean ± SD]: 2.459 ± 0.144 to 2.71 ± 0.084 and 2.983 ± 0.929 to 5.19 ± 1.064 for VDI with MHF and ST, respectively). The noise level reduction of the two methods were almost identical (noise levels: 65.8% with MHT and 65.24% with ST). Using MHF, the vascular network gets more fragmented by an average of 40% compared to ST. Both methods allow the segmentation of the vascular network and the examination of vascular density parameters, but they produce largely inconsistent results. To determine if these inconsistent results are clinically meaningful, and which method is more suitable for clinical use, our results provide further evidence that detailed understanding of the image analysis method is essential for reliable decision making for patients with retinal pathology. For longitudinal monitoring, use of the same image processing method is recommended. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T17:46:44Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-41777f353ec14ca98aee86e47d110d49 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T17:46:44Z |
| publishDate | 2023-10-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scientific Reports |
| spelling | doaj.art-41777f353ec14ca98aee86e47d110d492023-11-20T09:30:35ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222023-10-0113111310.1038/s41598-023-44234-zQualitative and quantitative comparison of two semi-manual retinal vascular density analyzing methods on optical coherence tomography angiography images of healthy individualsOrsolya Angeli0Dorottya Hajdu1Aniko Jeney2Balint Czifra3Balazs Vince Nagy4Tamas Balazs5Dora Jakaboczkine Nemoda6Gabor Mark Somfai7Zoltan Z. Nagy8Tunde Peto9Miklos Schneider10Department of Ophthalmology, Semmelweis UniversityDepartment of Ophthalmology, Semmelweis UniversityDepartment of Ophthalmology, Flor Ferenc HospitalDepartment of Mechatronics, Optics and Mechanical Engineering, Budapest University of Technology and EconomicsDepartment of Mechatronics, Optics and Mechanical Engineering, Budapest University of Technology and EconomicsHealthware LtdHealthware LtdDepartment of Ophthalmology, Semmelweis UniversityDepartment of Ophthalmology, Semmelweis UniversityCentre for Public Health, Queen’s University BelfastDepartment of Ophthalmology, Semmelweis UniversityAbstract The aim of this study was to evaluate qualitative and quantitative differences in vascular density analysis of an established and a novel alternative for post-processing on optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) images in healthy individuals. OCTA examinations of 38 subjects were performed. After extracting the images, two semi-manual post-processing techniques, the already established Mexican hat filtering (MHF) and an alternative, the Shanbhag thresholding (ST) were applied. We assessed Vessel Density (VD), Skeleton Density (SkD) and Vessel Diameter Index (VDI). We analyzed the results in order to establish similarities or potentially relevant differences. Regarding SkD and VD, MHF generally gave higher values than ST. Simultaneously, mean values were also predominantly higher by MHF; however, standard deviations (SD) were higher by ST (range [mean ± SD]: 0.054 ± 0.038 to 0.134 ± 0.01 and 0.134 ± 0.095 to 0.362 ± 0.028 vs 0.012 ± 0.014 to 0.087 ± 0.03 and 0.039 ± 0.047 to 0.4 ± 0.095 for SkD and VD with MHF vs SkD and VD with ST, respectively). Values of VDI were considerably higher with ST than with MHF, while standard deviation was still significantly higher with ST (range [mean ± SD]: 2.459 ± 0.144 to 2.71 ± 0.084 and 2.983 ± 0.929 to 5.19 ± 1.064 for VDI with MHF and ST, respectively). The noise level reduction of the two methods were almost identical (noise levels: 65.8% with MHT and 65.24% with ST). Using MHF, the vascular network gets more fragmented by an average of 40% compared to ST. Both methods allow the segmentation of the vascular network and the examination of vascular density parameters, but they produce largely inconsistent results. To determine if these inconsistent results are clinically meaningful, and which method is more suitable for clinical use, our results provide further evidence that detailed understanding of the image analysis method is essential for reliable decision making for patients with retinal pathology. For longitudinal monitoring, use of the same image processing method is recommended.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-44234-z |
| spellingShingle | Orsolya Angeli Dorottya Hajdu Aniko Jeney Balint Czifra Balazs Vince Nagy Tamas Balazs Dora Jakaboczkine Nemoda Gabor Mark Somfai Zoltan Z. Nagy Tunde Peto Miklos Schneider Qualitative and quantitative comparison of two semi-manual retinal vascular density analyzing methods on optical coherence tomography angiography images of healthy individuals Scientific Reports |
| title | Qualitative and quantitative comparison of two semi-manual retinal vascular density analyzing methods on optical coherence tomography angiography images of healthy individuals |
| title_full | Qualitative and quantitative comparison of two semi-manual retinal vascular density analyzing methods on optical coherence tomography angiography images of healthy individuals |
| title_fullStr | Qualitative and quantitative comparison of two semi-manual retinal vascular density analyzing methods on optical coherence tomography angiography images of healthy individuals |
| title_full_unstemmed | Qualitative and quantitative comparison of two semi-manual retinal vascular density analyzing methods on optical coherence tomography angiography images of healthy individuals |
| title_short | Qualitative and quantitative comparison of two semi-manual retinal vascular density analyzing methods on optical coherence tomography angiography images of healthy individuals |
| title_sort | qualitative and quantitative comparison of two semi manual retinal vascular density analyzing methods on optical coherence tomography angiography images of healthy individuals |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-44234-z |
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