Dundee: Imaging technology that scans blood vessels in the eye could be used
to help diagnose a wide range of diseases, according to a study carried
out by the Universities of Edinburgh and Dundee. Researchers say software designed to assess the health of vessels in
the retina could help scientists spot the early signs of heart disease,
diabetes and dementia.Changes to the retina are often a sign of sickness elsewhere in the
body. The software – known as VAMPIRE – allows scientists to analyse the
shape of blood vessels in thousands of images at a time and can
identify known indicators of disease.
VAMPIRE –Vessel Assessment and Measurement Platform for Images of the
REtina – was developed jointly by scientists at Edinburgh and Dundee.
Researchers believe the software could save significant amounts of
time by largely automating the process of looking for retinal
abnormalities in large data sets.
Professor Emanuele Trucco, of the University of Dundee’s School of
Computing, said, “The ultimate aim is to develop a practical software
tool supporting efficient and accurate measurement and analysis of large
collections of retinal images. The potential for research and clinical
impact is huge."
The team was the first to use a software tool to analyse images from
more than 2,500 people who had retinal scans collected for UK Biobank, a
long-term national health study. VAMPIRE proved effective at analysing
images, though researchers say a larger trial is required to determine
if it is the best way of utilising UK Biobank’s 80,000-strong retinal
dataset.
UK Biobank was established by the Wellcome Trust, Medical Research
Council, Department of Health, Scottish Government and the Northwest
Regional Development Agency.
The study, published in the journal PLOS ONE, was supported by the Leverhulme Trust and the Edinburgh and Lothians Health Foundation Eye Research Fund.
Dr Tom MacGillivray, of the University of Edinburgh’s Clinical
Research Imaging Centre, who led the study, said, “This is the first
step towards analysing all the retinal images held in the UK Biobank and
to contribute valuable information about the health and condition of
small blood vessels. Our work will hopefully accelerate research into
the causes and treatments of chronic illnesses that affect millions of
people in the UK.”