QUANTITATIVE IMAGE-ANALYSIS OF MACULAR DRUSEN FROM FUNDUS PHOTOGRAPHSAND SCANNING LASER OPHTHALMOSCOPE IMAGES

Drusen are common features in the ageing macula and are associated wit h exudative age-related macular degeneration (ARMD). They appear as ch aracteristic structures in indirect mode infrared scanning laser ophth almoscope (SLO) images. Manual counting of drusen area in SLO images h as shown no significant difference from that in standard fundus photog raphs in 6 eyes of 5 patients (p>0.5), Computerised image processing t echniques have been applied to digitised colour fundus photographs and indirect mode images to quantify the area of the macula affected by d rusen in an automated fashion. Application of these methods may permit objective and repeatable assessment of the natural history of macular drusen, For a specificity of 90%, a sensitivity of 60% for colour fun dus photographs and 35% for SLO images has been achieved, when compare d with manual counting, The colour fundus photograph method also showe d superior reproducibility compared with the SLO technique.