A Comparison of the Tortuosity Phenomenon in Retinal Arteries and Veins Using Digital Image Processing and Statistical Methods
The tortuosity of retinal blood vessels is an important phenomenon, and it can act as a biomarker in the diagnosis of several eye diseases. The study of abnormalities in the tortuosity of retinal arteries and veins provides ophthalmologists with important information for disease diagnosis. Our study...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2023-09-01
|
| Series: | Mathematics |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7390/11/18/3811 |
| _version_ | 1797579020153389056 |
|---|---|
| author | Sufian A. Badawi Maen Takruri Djamel Guessoum Isam Elbadawi Ameera Albadawi Ajay Nileshwar Emad Mosalam |
| author_facet | Sufian A. Badawi Maen Takruri Djamel Guessoum Isam Elbadawi Ameera Albadawi Ajay Nileshwar Emad Mosalam |
| author_sort | Sufian A. Badawi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The tortuosity of retinal blood vessels is an important phenomenon, and it can act as a biomarker in the diagnosis of several eye diseases. The study of abnormalities in the tortuosity of retinal arteries and veins provides ophthalmologists with important information for disease diagnosis. Our study aims to compare the tortuosity relation between retinal arteries and veins by quantifying the vessels’ tortuosity in the retina using 14 tortuosity measures applied to the AV-classification retinal dataset. Two feature sets are created, one for arteries and the other for veins. The comparison between the tortuosity of arteries and veins is based on a two-sample <i>T</i>-test statistical method, a regression analysis between the quantified tortuosity features, principal component analysis at the dataset level, and the introduction of the arteriovenous length ratios concept to compare the variations in these new ratios to see the tortuosity behavior in each image. The methods’ results have shown that the tortuosity of retinal arteries and veins is similar. The result of the two-sample <i>T</i>-test supports the research hypothesis, as the <i>P</i>-value obtained was greater than 0.05. Furthermore, the regression analysis between arteries and veins features showed a high correlation (<inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><msup><mi>r</mi><mn>2</mn></msup></semantics></math></inline-formula> = 89.39% and 89.11%) for arteries and veins, respectively. The study concludes that the retinal vessel type has no statistical significance in the tortuosity calculation results. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T22:29:55Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-57a32ae71d0f441b958570698eade432 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2227-7390 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T22:29:55Z |
| publishDate | 2023-09-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Mathematics |
| spelling | doaj.art-57a32ae71d0f441b958570698eade4322023-11-19T11:47:54ZengMDPI AGMathematics2227-73902023-09-011118381110.3390/math11183811A Comparison of the Tortuosity Phenomenon in Retinal Arteries and Veins Using Digital Image Processing and Statistical MethodsSufian A. Badawi0Maen Takruri1Djamel Guessoum2Isam Elbadawi3Ameera Albadawi4Ajay Nileshwar5Emad Mosalam6Center of Information, Communication and Networking Education and Innovation (ICONET), American University of Ras Al Khaimah, Ras Al Khaimah 72603, United Arab EmiratesCenter of Information, Communication and Networking Education and Innovation (ICONET), American University of Ras Al Khaimah, Ras Al Khaimah 72603, United Arab EmiratesElectrical Engineering Department, Ecole de Technologie Superieure, Montreal, QC H3C 1K3, CanadaIndustrial Engineering Department, College of Engineering, University of Ha’il, Ha’il 81481, Saudi ArabiaDepartment of Computer Science, College of Computing and Informatics, University of Sharjah, Sharjah P.O. Box 27272, United Arab EmiratesDepartment of Ophthalmology, RAK Medical, and Health Sciences University, Ras Al Khaimah 72603, United Arab EmiratesDr. Emad Musalam Eyes Clinic, Ras Al Khaimah P.O. Box 5450, United Arab EmiratesThe tortuosity of retinal blood vessels is an important phenomenon, and it can act as a biomarker in the diagnosis of several eye diseases. The study of abnormalities in the tortuosity of retinal arteries and veins provides ophthalmologists with important information for disease diagnosis. Our study aims to compare the tortuosity relation between retinal arteries and veins by quantifying the vessels’ tortuosity in the retina using 14 tortuosity measures applied to the AV-classification retinal dataset. Two feature sets are created, one for arteries and the other for veins. The comparison between the tortuosity of arteries and veins is based on a two-sample <i>T</i>-test statistical method, a regression analysis between the quantified tortuosity features, principal component analysis at the dataset level, and the introduction of the arteriovenous length ratios concept to compare the variations in these new ratios to see the tortuosity behavior in each image. The methods’ results have shown that the tortuosity of retinal arteries and veins is similar. The result of the two-sample <i>T</i>-test supports the research hypothesis, as the <i>P</i>-value obtained was greater than 0.05. Furthermore, the regression analysis between arteries and veins features showed a high correlation (<inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><msup><mi>r</mi><mn>2</mn></msup></semantics></math></inline-formula> = 89.39% and 89.11%) for arteries and veins, respectively. The study concludes that the retinal vessel type has no statistical significance in the tortuosity calculation results.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7390/11/18/3811retinal imagesretinal blood vesselsskeletonizationtortuosityinflection count metricsix sigma |
| spellingShingle | Sufian A. Badawi Maen Takruri Djamel Guessoum Isam Elbadawi Ameera Albadawi Ajay Nileshwar Emad Mosalam A Comparison of the Tortuosity Phenomenon in Retinal Arteries and Veins Using Digital Image Processing and Statistical Methods Mathematics retinal images retinal blood vessels skeletonization tortuosity inflection count metric six sigma |
| title | A Comparison of the Tortuosity Phenomenon in Retinal Arteries and Veins Using Digital Image Processing and Statistical Methods |
| title_full | A Comparison of the Tortuosity Phenomenon in Retinal Arteries and Veins Using Digital Image Processing and Statistical Methods |
| title_fullStr | A Comparison of the Tortuosity Phenomenon in Retinal Arteries and Veins Using Digital Image Processing and Statistical Methods |
| title_full_unstemmed | A Comparison of the Tortuosity Phenomenon in Retinal Arteries and Veins Using Digital Image Processing and Statistical Methods |
| title_short | A Comparison of the Tortuosity Phenomenon in Retinal Arteries and Veins Using Digital Image Processing and Statistical Methods |
| title_sort | comparison of the tortuosity phenomenon in retinal arteries and veins using digital image processing and statistical methods |
| topic | retinal images retinal blood vessels skeletonization tortuosity inflection count metric six sigma |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7390/11/18/3811 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT sufianabadawi acomparisonofthetortuosityphenomenoninretinalarteriesandveinsusingdigitalimageprocessingandstatisticalmethods AT maentakruri acomparisonofthetortuosityphenomenoninretinalarteriesandveinsusingdigitalimageprocessingandstatisticalmethods AT djamelguessoum acomparisonofthetortuosityphenomenoninretinalarteriesandveinsusingdigitalimageprocessingandstatisticalmethods AT isamelbadawi acomparisonofthetortuosityphenomenoninretinalarteriesandveinsusingdigitalimageprocessingandstatisticalmethods AT ameeraalbadawi acomparisonofthetortuosityphenomenoninretinalarteriesandveinsusingdigitalimageprocessingandstatisticalmethods AT ajaynileshwar acomparisonofthetortuosityphenomenoninretinalarteriesandveinsusingdigitalimageprocessingandstatisticalmethods AT emadmosalam acomparisonofthetortuosityphenomenoninretinalarteriesandveinsusingdigitalimageprocessingandstatisticalmethods AT sufianabadawi comparisonofthetortuosityphenomenoninretinalarteriesandveinsusingdigitalimageprocessingandstatisticalmethods AT maentakruri comparisonofthetortuosityphenomenoninretinalarteriesandveinsusingdigitalimageprocessingandstatisticalmethods AT djamelguessoum comparisonofthetortuosityphenomenoninretinalarteriesandveinsusingdigitalimageprocessingandstatisticalmethods AT isamelbadawi comparisonofthetortuosityphenomenoninretinalarteriesandveinsusingdigitalimageprocessingandstatisticalmethods AT ameeraalbadawi comparisonofthetortuosityphenomenoninretinalarteriesandveinsusingdigitalimageprocessingandstatisticalmethods AT ajaynileshwar comparisonofthetortuosityphenomenoninretinalarteriesandveinsusingdigitalimageprocessingandstatisticalmethods AT emadmosalam comparisonofthetortuosityphenomenoninretinalarteriesandveinsusingdigitalimageprocessingandstatisticalmethods |