Association between retinal vascular fractal dimensions and retinopathy of prematurity: an AI-assisted retrospective case-control study.

Shuai Liu, Lei Liu, Cuixia Ma, Shu Su, Ying Liu, Bin Li

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Article in International ophthalmology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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6 authors.

Shuai LiuSchool of Information Science and Technology, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230022, China.

Lei LiuSchool of Information Science and Technology, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230022, China. liulei13@ustc.edu.cn.

Cuixia MaAnhui Province Maternity and Child Health Hospital, Maternity and Child Health Hospital affiliated to Anhui Medical University, Hefei, 230001, China.

Shu SuEye Institute, Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University, Medical School of Nantong University, Nantong, 226006, China.

Ying LiuDepartment of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Jiangxi Medical College, Nanchang University, Jiangxi, 330006, China. liuyingwhu@126.com.

Bin LiSchool of Information Science and Technology, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230022, China.

Funding

Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities WK2100000045Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities and Hefei Health Care Commission 2022 Applied Medical Research Project No. Hwk2022yb028National Natural Science Foundation of China 82201648

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeThe main objective of this study was to analyze the fractal dimensions (D(f)) of retinal vasculature in premature infants with retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) and determine their correlation with ROP severity.

methodsWe conducted a single-center retrospective case-control study involving 641 premature patients with ROP (641 eyes) and 684 normal preterm infants (684 eyes) matched for corrected gestational age (CGA). Computer-assisted techniques were used to quantify peripapillary retinal vascular D(f), vessel tortuosity (VT), and vessel width (VW).

resultsCompared to the normal preterm groups, patients with ROP exhibited a significant increase in retinal vascular D(f) by 0.0061 (P = 0.0002). Subgroup analyses revealed a significant association between increasing ROP severity and increased retinal vascular D(f) (P < 0.05). Multivariable-adjusted ordered logistic regression models demonstrated that retinal vascular D(f) (aOR: 3.307, P < 0.0001) was significantly independent and associated with ROP severity. For every 0.1 increase in D(f), the probability of ROP requiring intervention increased by 33.07%. Multiple linear regression models indicated a significant positive correlation between D(f) and VT, as well as VW around the optic disc (P < 0.0001). For every 1 (10

conclusionsOur findings suggest that increased D(f) in retinal vessels is a pathological characteristic of ROP. This increase may be attributed to the curvature and width of the retinal vasculature in infants with ROP. Quantitative measurement of retinal vascular D(f) could serve as a valuable vascular indicator for assessing the severity of ROP.

Indexed as

FractalsRetinal VesselsRetinopathy of PrematurityCase-Control StudiesFemaleGestational AgeHumansInfant, NewbornInfant, PrematureMaleRetrospective StudiesSeverity of Illness IndexComputer-aided technologyFractal dimensionFundus imageRetinal vasculatureRetinopathy of prematurity

Identifiers

PMID40100468

DOI10.1007/s10792-025-03461-1

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.