Deep learning-based correction of cataract-induced influence on macular pigment optical density measurement by autofluorescence spectroscopy

by Akira Obana, Kibo Ote, Yuko Gohto, Hidenao Yamada, Fumio Hashimoto, Shigetoshi Okazaki, Ryo Asaoka

Measurements of macular pigment optical density (MPOD) using the autofluorescence spectroscopy yield underestimations of actual values in eyes with cataracts. Previously, we proposed a correction method for this error using deep learning (DL); however, the correction performance was validated through internal cross-validation. This cross-sectional study aimed to validate this approach using an external validation dataset.

MPODs at 0.25°, 0.5°, 1°, and 2° eccentricities and macular pigment optical volume (MPOV) within 9° eccentricity were measured using SPECTRALIS (Heidelberg Engineering, Heidelberg, Germany) in 197 (training dataset inherited from our previous study) and 157 eyes (validating dataset) before and after cataract surgery. A DL model was trained to predict the corrected value from the pre-operative value using the training dataset, and we measured the discrepancy between the corrected value and the actual postoperative value. Subsequently, the prediction performance was validated using a validation dataset.

Using the validation dataset, the mean absolute values of errors for MPOD and MPOV corrected using DL ranged from 8.2 to 12.4%, which were lower than values with no correction (P Conclusion

The usefulness of the DL correction method was validated. Deep learning reduced the error for a relatively good autofluorescence image quality. Poor-quality images were not corrected.