title: Computer-assisted retinal vessel measurement in an older population: correlation between right and left eyes.
abstract: This study assessed the correlation between computer-assisted retinal vessel measurements of right and left eyes, from subjects in a defined, community-based older population. Retinal photographs from participants in the Blue Mountains Eye Study were digitized. All retinal arterioles and venules located 0.5-1.0 disc diameters from the optic disc margin were identified and a computer program measured their diameters. Pearson correlation (R2) statistic was used to assess the correlation in a random subsample of 1546 images. Substantial correlation between right and left eye measurements was found for summary indices of retinal arterioles (R2 = 0.70) and venules (R2 = 0.77). Higher correlation was found for intragrader (R2 0.75-079) than for intergrader assessment (R2 0.67-0.72). Moderate correlation was found in arteriole-to-venule ratio assessed by the same (R2 = 0.57) or different (R2 = 0.52) graders. Measurements from one eye can thus adequately represent the retinal vessel diameters of a person.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Vision Research, Department of Ophthalmology, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
authors.forename: Harry
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Leung
authors.forename: Jie Jin
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Rochtchina
authors.forename: Ava G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.forename: Tien Y
authors.initials: TY
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.forename: Larry D
authors.initials: LD
authors.lastname: Hubbard
authors.forename: Ronald
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Klein
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mitchell
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D003936:Diagnosis, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D003941:Diagnostic Techniques, Ophthalmological; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015588:Observer Variation; D011897:Random Allocation; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012171:Retinal Vessels / Q000473:pathology*