Computational approaches for the reconstruction of optic nerve fibers along the visual pathway from medical images: a comprehensive review

Optic never fibers in the visual pathway play significant roles in vision formation. Damages of optic nerve fibers are biomarkers for the diagnosis of various ophthalmological and neurological diseases; also, there is a need to prevent the optic nerve fibers from getting damaged in neurosurgery and radiation therapy. Reconstruction of optic nerve fibers from medical images can facilitate all these clinical applications. Although many computational methods are developed for the reconstruction of optic nerve fibers, a comprehensive review of these methods is still lacking. This paper described both the two strategies for optic nerve fiber reconstruction applied in existing studies, i.e., image segmentation and fiber tracking. In comparison to image segmentation, fiber tracking can delineate more detailed structures of optic nerve fibers. For each strategy, both conventional and AI-based approaches were introduced, and the latter usually demonstrates better performance than the former. From the review, we concluded that AI-based methods are the trend for optic nerve fiber reconstruction and some new techniques like generative AI can help address the current challenges in optic nerve fiber reconstruction.

Automated summary

Optic nerve fibers in the visual pathway are important for vision formation. The damages of these fibers can aid in diagnosing various eye and neurological diseases and efforts should be made to prevent these damages during neurosurgery and radiation therapy. Reconstructing optic nerve fibers from medical images can have numerous clinical applications. This paper reviews strategies for reconstructing optic nerve fibers, including image segmentation and fiber tracking, with a focus on the advantages of fiber tracking. Both conventional and AI-based approaches are discussed, with AI-based methods showing promising results. The paper concludes that AI-based methods, including generative AI, are the future for optic nerve fiber reconstruction.