title: Segmentation and quantification of retinal lesions in age-related macular degeneration using polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography.
abstract: We present polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography (PS-OCT) for quantitative assessment of retinal pathologies in age-related macular degeneration (AMD). On the basis of the polarization scrambling characteristics of the retinal pigment epithelium, novel segmentation algorithms were developed that allow one to segment pathologic features such as drusen and atrophic zones in dry AMD as well as to determine their dimensions. Results from measurements in the eyes of AMD patients prove the ability of PS-OCT for quantitative imaging based on the retinal features polarizing properties. Repeatability measurements were performed in retinas diagnosed with drusen and geographic atrophy in order to evaluate the performance of the described methods. PS-OCT appears as a promising imaging modality for three-dimensional retinal imaging and ranging with additional contrast based on the structures' tissue-inherent polarization properties.
authors.affiliation: Medical University of Vienna, Center for Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, Währinger Straße 13, Vienna, Austria. bernhard.baumann@meduniwien.ac.at
authors.forename: Bernhard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Baumann
authors.forename: Erich
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gotzinger
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pircher
authors.forename: Harald
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sattmann
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Schuutze
authors.forename: Ferdinand
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Schlanitz
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ahlers
authors.forename: Ursula
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Schmidt-Erfurth
authors.forename: Christoph K
authors.initials: CK
authors.lastname: Hitzenberger
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008268:Macular Degeneration / Q000473:pathology*; D008859:Microscopy, Polarization / Q000295:instrumentation*; D010363:Pattern Recognition, Automated / Q000379:methods*; D012160:Retina / Q000473:pathology*; D015593:Retinal Drusen / Q000473:pathology*; D042261:Retinoscopes; D041623:Tomography, Optical Coherence / Q000295:instrumentation*