ALTAIR

The scope of this work is to develop a technological platform specialized in assessing retinal vessel caliber and describing the relationship of the results obtained to cardiovascular risk.

Population studies conducted have found retinal vessel caliber to be related to the risk of hypertension, left ventricular hypertrophy, metabolic syndrome, stroke, and coronary artery disease. The vascular system in the human retina has a unique property: it is easily observed in its natural living state in the human retina by the use of a retinal camera. Retinal circulation is an area of active research among numerous groups, and there is general experimental agreement on the analysis of the patterns of the retinal blood vessels in the normal human retina. The development of automated tools designed to improve performance and decrease interobserver variability, therefore, appears necessary.

ALTAIR (Automatic image analyzer to assess retinal vessel caliber) is a novel platform image processing that studies the structural properties of vessels, arteries and veins that are observed with a red-free fundus camera in the normal human eye, and the fractal analysis of the branching trees of the vascular system. Altair employs analytical methods and AI (Artificial Intelligence) algorithms to detect retinal parameters of interest. The sequence of algorithms represents a new methodology to determine the properties of retinal veins and arteries. The platform uses the latest statistical and medical computer techniques:

– Firstly, a phase called “digitization of the retina”, in which the different parts of the eye image are identified. Here a data structure is created, which makes it possible to represent and process the retina without requiring the original image. This phase includes modules of preprocessing (techniques: filters noise, contrast, etc.), detection (techniques based on the detection of edges or borders, Hough transform, etc.), and segmentation (algorithms based on matched filters, vessel tracking and Principal Component analysis or PCA).

– Secondly, a phase of “measurements” in which we work with retinas that have been previously identified. This phase includes extraction of knowledge and manual correction (techniques: expert knowledge thresholding techniques, case-based reasoning (CBR), etc.).

The platform does not require user initialization, it is robust to the changes in the appearance of retinal fundus images typically encountered in clinical environments, and is intended as a unified tool to link all the methods needed to automate all processes of measurement on the retinas.

ASSOCIATED PROJECTS

NATIONALS

ALTAIR: Development and validation of a tool for the analysis of the vascularization of the retina

Funding body: Fundación Vicente y García Corselas

Principal Research: Luis García Ortiz

Start date: 2014-01-01 End date: 2014-12-01

REGIONALS

Altair: Validation of the tool ALTAIR for the analysis of the vascularization of the retina

Reference: GRS 907/B/1

Funding body: Consejeria de Sanidad de C y L.(Gerencia Regional de Salud)

Principal Research: Luis Garcia Ortiz

Start date: 2014-04-01 End date: 2015-06-01

Posted in: Bisite, Innovation, R & D + i, Transfer
Tagged in: Bisite, Innovation, investigation, retina, Science Park

Posted by Juan M. Corchado

Juan Manuel Corchado (15 May 1971, Salamanca, Spain) is Professor at the University of Salamanca. He has been Vice-Rector for Research from 2013 to 2017 and Director of the Science Park of the University of Salamanca. Elected as Dean of the Faculty of Science twice, he holds a PhD in Computer Science from the University of Salamanca and a PhD in Artificial Intelligence from the University of the West of Scotland. He leads the renowned BISITE (Bioinformatics, Intelligent Systems and Educational Technology) Research Group, created in 2000. Director of the IoT Digital Innovation Hub and President of the AIR Institute, J. M. Corchado is also Visiting Professor at the Osaka Institute of Technology since January 2015, Visiting Professor at the Universiti Malaysia Kelantan and Member of the Advisory Group on Online Terrorist Propaganda of the European Counter Terrorism Centre (EUROPOL). J. M. Corchado has been president of the IEEE Systems, Man and Cybernetics Society, and academic coordinator of the University Institute for Research in Art and Animation Technology at the University of Salamanca, as well as researcher at the Universities of Paisley (UK), Vigo (Spain) and the Plymouth Marine Laboratory (UK). He currently combines all his activity with the direction of Master programmes in Security, Digital Animation, Mobile Telephony, Information Systems Management, Internet of Things, Social Media, 3D Design and Printing, Blockchain, Z System, Industry 4.0, Agile Project Management, and Smart Cities & Intelligent Buildings, at the University of Salamanca and his work as editor-in-chief of the journals ADCAIJ (Advances in Distributed Computing and Artificial Intelligence Journal), OJCST (Oriental Journal of Computer Science and Technology) or Electronics MDPI (Computer Science & Engineering section). J. M. Corchado mainly works on projects related to Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Blockchain, IoT, Fog Computing, Edge Computing, Smart Cities, Smart Grids and Sentiment Analysis. He has recently been included in the board of trustees of the AstraZeneca Foundation, along with other health professionals and researchers recognised for bringing scientific knowledge closer to society.

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