Retinal vascular morphological characteristics in diabetic retinopathy: an artificial intelligence study using a transfer learning system to analyze ultra-wide field images

AIM:To investigate the morphological characteristics of retinal vessels in patients with different severity of diabetic retinopathy(DR)and in patients with or without diabetic macular edema(DME).METHODS:The 239 eyes of DR patients and 100 eyes of healthy individuals were recruited for the study.The severity of DR patients was graded as mild,moderate and severe non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy(NPDR)according to the international clinical diabetic retinopathy(ICDR)disease severity scale classification,and retinal vascular morphology was quantitatively analyzed in ultra-wide field images using RU-net and transfer learning methods.The presence of DME was determined by optical coherence tomography(OCT),and differences in vascular morphological characteristics were compared between patients with and without DME.RESULTS:Retinal vessel segmentation using RU-net and transfer learning system had an accuracy of 99%and a Dice metric of 0.76.Compared with the healthy group,the DR group had smaller vessel angles(33.68±3.01 vs 37.78±1.60),smaller fractal dimension(Df)values(1.33±0.05 vs 1.41±0.03),less vessel density(1.12±0.44 vs 2.09±0.36)and fewer vascular branches(206.1±88.8 vs 396.5±91.3),all P<0.001.As the severity of DR increased,Df values decreased,P=0.031.No significant difference between the DME and non-DME groups were observed in vascular morphological characteristics.CONCLUSION:In this study,an artificial intelligence retinal vessel segmentation system is used with 99%accuracy,thus providing with relatively satisfactory performance in the evaluation of quantitative vascular morphology.DR patients have a tendency of vascular occlusion and dropout.The presence of DME does not compromise the integral retinal vascular pattern.

Vascular morphological change due to endovascular stent placement for intracranial aneurysm

Objective The purpose of this study was to quantify the vascular angle change due to intracranial stent placement and its effect on hemodynamics. Methods Fifteen patients with a wide-necked anterior communicating artery aneurysm were treated with stent-assisted coiling. Centerlines of the parent vessels were calculated and determined the exact change in

Asymmetry in circulation system and cardiovascular diseases

Asymmetries in the human vascular system and cardiovascular disease are widespread.Vascular physiological asymmetry can manifest in the morphological structure and blood flow state,whereas pathological asymmetry can reflect differences in the occurrence and cure of bilateral vascular diseases.The causes associated with these asymmetrical differences may be demand-driven or due to vascular grading or asymmetries in other physiological systems.This article aims to review the asymmetry of several typical arteries,including cerebral,cervical,and limb arteries,and lists possible causes to emphasize the necessity of considering asymmetric factors in the prevention,treatment,and rehabilitation of vascular diseases.Future research on asymmetries in the vascular system may improve the risk assessment and personalized treatment of vascular diseases.