Analysis of retinal fundus images for grading of diabetic retinopathy severity

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a sight threatening complication due to diabetes mellitus that affects the retina. In this article, a computerised DR grading system, which digitally analyses retinal fundus image, is used to measure foveal avascular zone. A v-fold cross-validation method is applied to the FINDeRS database to evaluate the performance of the DR system. It is shown that the system achieved sensitivity of > 84%, specificity of > 97% and accuracy of > 95% for all DR stages. At high values of sensitivity (> 95%), specificity (> 97%) and accuracy (> 98%) obtained for No DR and severe NPDR/PDR stages, the computerised DR grading system is suitable for early detection of DR and for effective treatment of severe cases.