IP Library Granted Patent US 12,299,872
Granted Patent B2
US 12,299,872 · App. 17/346,454 · Granted May 13, 2025

Detecting and tracking macular degeneration

Inventors: Varad Srivastava (Skaneateles, NY); Allen R. Hart (Knoxville, TN)
Assignee: Welch Allyn, Inc.
G06T7/0012G06T5/40G06T7/11G06T7/136G06T7/62G06T2207/30041
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,299,872
App. No.
17/346,454
Granted
May 13, 2025
Kind
B2
Abstract

A system includes a vision screening device having at least one sensor. The system also includes a controller operably connected to the at least one sensor. The controller is configured to cause the at least one sensor to obtain an image of an eye, and to identify a region of interest associated with a macula of the eye. The controller is also configured to identify drusen disposed proximate the macula, and to generate an augmented image of the eye. The augmented image includes a component indicating the drusen.

Claims (79)

1. A system, comprising:

a vision screening device having at least one sensor; and

a controller operably connected to the at least one sensor, the controller being configured to:

cause the at least one sensor to obtain an image of an eye;

identify, based at least in part on the image, an optic disc of the eye;

generate, at a first location, a first geometric shape approximating the optic disc, the first geometric shape having a dimension;

identify, based at least in part on the image, a region of interest exclusive of the optic disc, wherein:

the region of interest is represented by a second geometric shape disposed at a second location different from the first location, and

the second location of the second geometric shape is determined based at least in part on the dimension of the first geometric shape;

identify, based at least in part on the image, drusen disposed proximate a macula of the eye and at least partially within the region of interest;

determine a value indicative of a characteristic of the drusen; and

generate an alert based at least in part on the value exceeding a threshold.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the characteristic of the drusen comprises at least one of an area, a color, an opacity, and a distance between the drusen and the macula.

3. The system of claim 1 , the vision screening device further comprising computer-readable media storing one or more macular degeneration screening components configured to assist in generating an augmented image of the eye, the augmented image including a component indicating the drusen.

4. The system of claim 3 , wherein the component comprises a contour identifying at least part of a perimeter of the drusen.

5. The system of claim 1 , wherein the controller is further configured to:

identify, using the image, a plurality of contours associated with the optic disc; and

position the first geometric shape such that a centerpoint of the first geometric shape overlays a centroid corresponding to the plurality of contours.

6. The system of claim 5 , wherein

the first geometric shape comprises a circle,

the dimension of the first geometric shape comprises a radius of the circle; and

the centroid comprises:

a centroid of a largest contour included in the plurality of contours, or

a cumulative centroid of the plurality of contours.

7. The system of claim 5 , wherein the controller is further configured to identify a dimension of the second geometric shape representing the region of interest based at least in part on the dimension of the first geometric shape,

a centerpoint of the second geometric shape is spaced from the centerpoint of the first geometric shape by a distance, and

the distance is determined based at least in part on the dimension of the first geometric shape.

8. The system of claim 1 , wherein identifying the drusen comprises applying a contrast limited adaptive histogram equalization to image data captured by a single channel of the at least one sensor, the image data corresponding to the image of the eye.

9. The system of claim 8 , wherein identifying the drusen further comprises applying a brightness threshold to at least part of the image data.

10. The system of claim 9 , wherein identifying the drusen further comprises applying an area threshold to at least part of the image data.

11. The system of claim 10 , wherein generating the augmented image comprises generating the component based at least in part on image data satisfying the area threshold.

12. The system of claim 1 , wherein the second geometric shape is different from the first geometric shape.

13. The system of claim 1 , further comprising:

a display operably connected to the controller and configured to display an augmented image of the eye, the augmented image including a component indicating the drusen, and

a vision screening system operably connected to the vision screening device via a network, wherein the controller is configured to:

generate a list identifying a distance between the drusen and the macula, and

provide the list to the vision screening system via the network.

14. The system of claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to determine the second location of the second geometric shape, relative to the first location of the first geometric shape, based on the dimension of the first geometric shape.

15. The system of claim 1 , wherein determining the second location of the second geometric shape comprises determining a location of a centerpoint of the second geometric shape based on the first dimension of the first geometric shape.

16. A method, comprising:

receiving, with a controller, an image of an eye;

identifying, with the controller and based at least in part on the image, an optic disc of the eye;

identifying, with the controller a first geometric shape corresponding to the optic disc, the first geometric shape being disposed at a first location and having a dimension;

identifying, with the controller, a region of interest exclusive of the optic disc, wherein:

the region of interest is represented by a second geometric shape disposed at a second location different from the first location, and

the second location of the second geometric shape is determined based at least in part on the dimension of the first geometric shape;

identifying, with the controller and based at least in part on the image, drusen disposed at least partially within the region of interest; and

generating, with the controller, an augmented image of the eye, the augmented image including a component indicating the drusen.

17. The method of claim 16 , further comprising generating, with the controller, a list identifying at least one of a location of the drusen indicated by the component, a perimeter of the drusen indicated by the component, and a color of the drusen indicated by the component.

18. The method of claim 16 , wherein identifying the drusen comprises at least one of:

applying a contrast limited adaptive histogram equalization to image data captured by a single channel of an image capture device,

applying a brightness threshold to at least part of the image data, and

applying an area threshold to at least part of the image data.

19. A system, comprising:

a controller; and

memory storing instructions which, when executed by the controller, cause the controller to perform operations including:

receiving an image of an eye,

identifying, based at least in part on the image, an optic disc of the eye;

generate, at a first location, a first geometric shape associated with the optic disc;

identify a region of interest of the eye exclusive of the optic disc, wherein:

the region of interest is represented by a second geometric shape disposed at a second location different from the first location, and

the second location of the second geometric shape is determined based at least in part on a dimension of the first geometric shape;

identifying, based at least in part on the image, drusen disposed at least partially within the region of interest; and

generating an augmented image of the eye, the augmented image including a component indicating the drusen.

20. The system of claim 19 , wherein the operations further include causing a display to display the augmented image of the eye,

the component comprising a contour identifying at least part of a perimeter of the drusen.

21. The system of claim 19 , wherein the image comprises a fundus image captured by a vision screening device, and the controller comprises a controller of a vision screening system operably connected to the vision screening device.

22. The system of claim 19 , wherein the operations further include:

determining a value associated with a characteristic of the drusen,

determining that the value exceeds a threshold value associated with the characteristic, and

generating an alert based at least in part on determining that the value exceeds the threshold value.

23. The system of claim 22 , wherein the characteristic of the drusen comprises at least one of an area, a color, an opacity, and a distance between the drusen and a macula of the eye.

24. The system of claim 19 , wherein the operations further include:

determining a first value associated with the drusen and based at least in part on the image, the first value being indicative of a characteristic of the drusen at a first time,

determining a second value associated with the drusen and based at least in part on an additional image of the eye, the second value being indicative of the characteristic of the drusen at a second time later than the first time,

determining a difference between the first value and the second value,

determining that the difference exceeds a threshold value,

generating an alert based at least in part on determining that the difference exceeds the threshold value; and

causing a device to output the alert.

Assignments (2)
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST AT REEL/FRAME 050260/0644 Recorded Dec 14, 2021
From: JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A.
To: BREATHE TECHNOLOGIES, INC.; HILL-ROM SERVICES, INC.; ALLEN MEDICAL SYSTEMS, INC.; WELCH ALLYN, INC.; HILL-ROM, INC.; VOALTE, INC.; BARDY DIAGNOSTICS, INC.; HILL-ROM HOLDINGS, INC.
Reel/Frame 058517/0001 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Jun 14, 2021
From: SRIVASTAVA, VARAD; HART, ALLEN R.
To: WELCH ALLYN, INC.
Reel/Frame 056530/0795 →
Continuity (2)
Provisional Application 63039665 · Jun 16, 2020
Related Publication 20210390692A1 · Dec 16, 2021
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