Automated Detection and Segmentation of Choroidal Neovascularization in OCT Using Deep Learning
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Abstract
Choroidal neovascularization (CNV) is a hallmark of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), marked by the growth of abnormal blood vessels beneath the retina that can severely impair vision. Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT), a non-invasive imaging technique, is widely used to detect CNV due to its ability to capture detailed cross-sectional images of the retina. However, the variability in lesion appearance and the presence of artifacts make manual interpretation challenging and time-consuming. To address these limitations, this study explored the application of deep learning models for automated CNV image detection and CNV localization in OCT images. We compared several architectures widely used for segmentation tasks: U-Net, Attention U-Net, DeepLabV3+, DeepLabV3++, Mask R-CNN, and Mask R-CNN+, tested on a balanced dataset of 500 images. Among the tested models, DeepLabV3++ achieved the highest performance with a CNV image detection accuracy of 99.4% and a CNV localization F1-score of 0.80. These findings suggest that deep learning can significantly enhance the efficiency and consistency of CNV diagnosis, paving the way for its integration into clinical workflows to support early screening and treatment of AMD.
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