Blood Vessels Quantification to Detect Glaucoma Using Retinal Fundus Images

Glaucoma is one of the most dangerous causes of blindness that results in permanent blindness within a few years if left untreated. It is very hard to diagnose particularly in early stages. Using ophthalmological images, vasculature of blood vessels is most valuable factor for detecting glaucoma. It can be segmented by image processing techniques which help in early diagnosis. In this research the vasculature found within the optic disc is segmented, then used to calculate its ratio in ISNT quadrants. On the basis of ISNT rule we find out that ratio of blood vessels in each and evaluates the results whether blood vessels are being nasalized i.e. they are violating or obeying ISNT rule. The proposed methodology is examined on 50 images collected from different image databases which are FAU, DMED and MESSIDOR to testify nasalization of vessels in retinal images.