Locating the Optic Nerve in Retinal Images: Comparing Model-Based and Bayesian Decision Methods

In this work we compare two methods for automatic optic nerve (ON) localization in retinal imagery. The first method uses a Bayesian decision theory discriminator based on four spatial features of the retina imagery. The second method uses a principal component-based reconstruction to model the ON. We report on an improvement to the model-based technique by incorporating linear discriminant analysis and Bayesian decision theory methods. We explore a method to combine both techniques to produce a composite technique with high accuracy and rapid throughput. Results are shown for a data set of 395 images with 2-fold validation testing