Title: Retinal vessel segmentation method based on multi-scale dual-path convolutional neural network

Authors: Tao Fang; Linling Fang

Addresses: College of Electronics and Information, Hangzhou Dianzi University, Hangzhou, 310018, China ' China Mobile (Hangzhou) Information Technology Co., Ltd., China Mobile Hangzhou R & D Center, Hangzhou, 310000, China

Abstract: Aiming to identify small blood vessels and low-contrast areas in retinal images, the paper presents an innovative approach to segmenting blood vessels in retinal images by employing a multi-scale dual-path convolutional neural network. It utilises Gabor filters to capture the unique characteristics of vessels at various scales, distinguishing between thick and thin vessels. The method integrates a dual-path network that employs convolution and sampling operations for advanced feature learning, leading to efficient end-to-end segmentation. The local vessel segmentation network features an encoder-decoder structure that retains spatial dimensions and employs dilated convolution to enhance the precision of thin vessel segmentation. A skip connection is added to further refine the segmentation of small vessels. The results on the DRIVE and CHASE_DB1 datasets show that this method outperforms existing techniques, achieving higher accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity. It successfully segments small, low-contrast vessels that are often overlooked while preserving the integrity and connectivity of the vascular structure.

Keywords: vessel segmentation; fundus retina; multi-scale dual-path; convolutional neural network; feature fusion.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSISE.2024.142337

International Journal of Signal and Imaging Systems Engineering, 2024 Vol.13 No.2, pp.55 - 67

Received: 10 Apr 2024
Accepted: 31 May 2024
Published online: 23 Oct 2024 *

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