Analysis of Color Consistency in Retinal Fundus Photography: Application of Color Management and Development of an Eye Model Standard

Abstract

Color variation in retinal fundus photography represents a significant gap in the standardization of color for fundus cameras. Fundus cameras are used in the context of ophthalmology as a method of documenting a patient’s retina to monitor pathology over time.This form of ophthalmic imaging is also used in clinical trial research and, increasingly, teleophthalmology, as a stand in for an in-person examination. Given the increased reliance on these images as representations of the appearance of a patient’s eye, it becomes important to identify inconsistencies between devices and provide the most accurate rendering of the retina possible. This research aims to identify these inconsistencies and reconcile them by proposing an eye color model standard. The authors could not identify other attempts to reconcile retinal color at capture, only after the fact image adjustment [1, 2] or application of current color management practices (Figure 1) [3].