Korean J Ophthalmol.  2011 Jun;25(3):174-177. 10.3341/kjo.2011.25.3.174.

Quantitative Analysis of Optic Disc Color

• Kim US
• Kim SJ
• Baek SH
• Kim HK
• Sohn YH

• KMID: 1010024
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3341/kjo.2011.25.3.174

Abstract

PURPOSE
To evaluate the reproducibility of ImageJ software in analyzing the color of the optic disc.
METHODS
One hundred twelve normal participants (56 males and 56 females) were enrolled in this study. The image of the optic disc was taken using Kowa digital disc photo-graphy, and the gray scales of the nasal rim (NR), brightest cupping center (BCC) and largest inferior retinal vein (IRV) were calculated using histogram in ImageJ. Three different observers calculated the gray scales three separate times. Reproducibility was assessed using the interclass correlation coefficient (ICC).
RESULTS
The mean age of the participants was 50.6 years old (range, 11 to 82 years). The mean gray scales of the nasal rim were 91.81, 94.91, and 93.24; those of the brightest cupping center were 174.84, 179.94, and 177.76; and those of the largest inferior retinal vein were 61.85, 53.48, and 56.73 for observers 1, 2, and 3, respectively. Inter-observer reproducibility for NR, BCC and IRV was considered good based upon ICC values of 0.944, 0.860, and 0.789 for observers 1, 2, and 3, respectively. Significant age-related differences between the values of the brightest cupping center were noted, and the gray scale score was decreased in the older participants (p < 0.001).
CONCLUSIONS
The gray scale of the brightest cupping center diminished with age. ImageJ can be a useful objective tool with high reproducibility in the analysis of optic disc color.

Keyword

Gray scale; ImageJ; Optic disc; Reproducibility

MeSH Terms

Adolescent
Adult
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Child
Color
Female
Humans
Image Processing, Computer-Assisted/*methods
Male
Middle Aged
Optic Disk/*physiology
Organ Size
Photography
Reference Values
Reproducibility of Results
Retinal Vein/anatomy & histology
*Software
Young Adult

Figure

• 

  Fig. 1 Estimated points are shown in the photographs of the optic disc head. ● The nasal rim at the point of nine o'clock from the disc center. ■ The brightest cupping center is nearly the center of cupping where the color is brightest. ★ The largest inferior retinal vein is the point of the inferior retinal vein that comes in contact with the disc margin.

• 

  Fig. 2 Correlation between the gray scales and age. BCC = brightest cupping center; NR = nasal rim; ICC = interclass correlation coefficient.

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