Automatic Anterior Chamber Angle Assessment Of Ultrasound Images For Glaucoma Detection Sanskruti Naik 1 , Rini Rai 2 , Nimisha Sankhe 3 , P. V. Kasambe 4 1 (Department of Electronics Engineering Sardar Patel Institute of Technology, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India 2 (Department of Electronics Engineering Sardar Patel Institute of Technology, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India 3 (Department of Electronics Engineering Sardar Patel Institute of Technology, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India 4 (Department of Electronics Engineering Sardar Patel Institute of Technology, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India Abstract Glaucoma refers to a group of ocular diseases that usually have few or no initial symptoms and may cause characteristic progressive changes in the optic nerve head, visual field loss or both. Image processing techniques for the ultrasound images of the eye can be used to extract critical parameters pertaining to the structural changes in the anterior chamber of the eye which can help in glaucoma detection. We propose an algorithm to automatically detect the anterior chamber region and measure one such critical parameter, the Trabecular Iris Angle. Among the many challenges encountered in implementing the proposed algorithm, a significant one was the extraction of the ciliary body region amidst ultrasound speckle noise; this has been tackled using a combination of two filters, namely, adaptive Wiener filter and Laplacian of Gaussian filter. Also, a graphical user interface was developed for simple and convenient user accessibility. 1. Introduction The glaucomas are a diverse group of eye conditions sharing the common features of progressive optic neuropathy or occludable drainage angles in the anterior chamber [1]. Glaucoma is second only to cataract as a leading cause of blindness worldwide [2] and is the leading cause of irreversible visual loss. As 50% or more of those individuals with glaucoma are unaware of their diagnosis, more effort is needed to effectively screen high-risk groups and to educate society about the preventability and consequences of glaucoma [3]. Primary open angle glaucoma is a degenerative disorder of the eye, where the intraocular pressure and other currently unknown factors contribute to a characteristic acquired atrophy of the optic nerve [4]. Primary angle closure (PAC) is an anatomical disorder of the anterior segment of the eye characterized by permanent closure of part of the filtration angle as a result of previous iris apposition to the trabecular meshwork. The subsequent rise in intraocular pressure can cause optic nerve damage and is defined as primary angle closure glaucoma (PACG) [5]. By the year 2020, it is estimated that there will be almost 80 million people in the world with open-angle glaucoma and angle-closure glaucoma (ACG). In the year 2010, it was estimated that ACG will account for 26% of glaucoma worldwide, with a mean prevalence of 0.69%. Due to greater longevity of women and the higher prevalence of ACG in women, women are expected to comprise 70% of individuals with ACG [3].Hence, the screening and diagnosis of ACG is very important. If untreated, it leads to higher intraocular pressure, permanent nerve damage, and blindness. 2190 International Journal of Engineering Research & Technology (IJERT) Vol. 2 Issue 4, April - 2013 ISSN: 2278-0181 www.ijert.org