Staging of Diabetic Retinopathy using TVEP Phase Spectral Periodicity Analysis

Diabetic retinopathy is one of the common complications of diabetes. Unfortunately, in many cases the patient is not aware of any symptoms until it is too late for effective treatment. Thorough analysis of evoked potential response of the retina, optical nerve and optical brain center will pave a way for early diagnosis of diabetic retinopathy and enable prognosis during the treatment process. This paper presents a non-invasive transient visual evoked potential phase spectral components periodicity measure based method to classify diabetic retinopathy subjects

1. Introduction

Diabetic retinopathy is a complication of diabetes that affects the blood vessels of the retina. Growth of new blood vessels, known as proliferative retinopathy, may lead to blindness through hemorrhage and scarring. A deterioration of retinal blood vessels causing loss of blood vessels and leakage into the retina is known as maculopathy and leads to visual impairment and may progress to blindness. Diabetic retinopathy is a common cause of visual loss and it is a potentially blinding complication of diabetes that damages the eye's retina [1]–[3]. Non-Insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) may be the most rapidly growing chronic disease in the world. Its long-term complications, including retinopathy, nephropathy, neuropathy, and accelerated macro vascular disease cause major morbidity and mortality. Electrophysiological tests reveal an abnormal function of the visual system in patients with diabetic retinopathy [4]–[7].