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Enhanced detection of normal retinal nerve-fiber striations using a charge-coupled device and digital filtering

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Abstract

We used a 1024 × 1024 pixel, 15-μm, 16-bitencoding, multi-pin-phase charge-coupled device (CCD) to obtain images of the normal human retinal nerve fiber layer. This device, which operates at room temperature, offers significantly better signal-to-noise ratio, linearity, and dynamic range than do photographic film, video imaging techniques, or commercially available CCDs. We demonstrate the use of a nonlinear digital filter, together with filter windows, that enhances fine detail of NFL striations, while suppressing noise, in limited areas of the CCD images. High-sensitivity imaging of this type, together with appropriate digital processing, may prove useful in diagnosing and following nerve-fiber-layer damage due to glaucoma.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ophthalmology, University of South Florida College of Medicine, 12901 Bruce B. Downs Blvd., MDC Box 21, 33612, Tampa, Florida, USA

    David W. Richards

  2. Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA

    James R. Janesick, S. Thomas Elliot & Arsham Dingizian

  3. Department of Radiology, Center for Engineering and Medical Image Analysis, and H. Lee Moffitt Hospital and Cancer Research Institute, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, USA

    Robert Velthuizen, Qian Wei & Laurence P. Clarke

Authors
  1. David W. Richards
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  2. James R. Janesick
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  3. S. Thomas Elliot
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  4. Arsham Dingizian
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  5. Robert Velthuizen
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  6. Qian Wei
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  7. Laurence P. Clarke
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None of the authors has any commercial or proprietary interest in any product or company mentioned in this paper.

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Richards, D.W., Janesick, J.R., Elliot, S.T. et al. Enhanced detection of normal retinal nerve-fiber striations using a charge-coupled device and digital filtering. Graefe's Arch Clin Exp Ophthalmol 231, 595–599 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00936525

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00936525

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