Retinal Fractal Dimension Is a Potential Biomarker for Systemic Health-Evidence From a Mixed-Age, Primary-Care Population.

ABSTRACT:

Purpose

To investigate whether fractal dimension (FD), a retinal trait relating to vascular complexity and a potential "oculomics" biomarker for systemic disease, is applicable to a mixed-age, primary-care population.

Methods

We used cross-sectional data (96 individuals; 183 eyes; ages 18-81 years) from a university-based optometry clinic in Glasgow, Scotland, to study the association between FD and systemic health. We computed FD from color fundus images using Deep Approximation of Retinal Traits (DART), an artificial intelligence-based method designed to be more robust to poor image quality.

Results

Despite DART being designed to be more robust, a significant association (P < 0.001) between image quality and FD remained. Consistent with previous literature, age was

SUBMITTER: Engelmann J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11019596 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature