Correlation between PET-derived cerebral amyloid status and retinal image features using a hyperspectral fundus camera

Abstract

This study, investigates the relationship between retinal image features and β-amyloid (Aβ) burden in the brain with the aim of developing a non-invasive early detection method for Alzheimer’s disease (AD). 172 retinal images from 20 clinically probable AD and 45 age-matched control cases were acquired using a hyper spectral imaging system. Brain Aβ accumulation was estimated from amyloid PET imaging. Spatial and spectral features from the hyperspectral retinal images were calculated including vessels tortuosity and image textures at different anatomical regions. Retinal veins of amyloid positive subjects (Aβ+) showed a higher mean tortuosity compared to the amyloid negative subjects (p<2.4e-7). Furthermore, a significant difference between texture measures of retinal arteries and their adjacent regions were observed in Aβ+ subjects when compared to the Aβ- (p<1.3e-5).