Effective encoder-decoder network for pupil light reflex segmentation in facial photographs of ptosis patients

Accurate segmentation of pupil light reflexes is essential for the reliable assessment of ptosis severity, a condition characterized by the drooping of the upper eyelid. This study introduces a novel encoder-decoder network specialized in reflex segmentation by focusing on addressing issues related to very small regions of interest from an architectural perspective. Specifically, the proposed network is designed to exploit low-level features effectively by integrating a multi-level skip connection and a 1 × 1 convolution-enhanced initial encoding stage. Assessed using a photograph image dataset from Chung-Ang University Hospital, which includes 87 healthy subjects, 64 with ptosis, and 257 with Graves' orbitopathy (collected between January 2010 and February 2023), the proposed network outperforms five conventional encoder-decoders. Over 30 trials, the proposed network achieved a mean Dice coefficient of 0.767 and an Intersection over Union of 0.653, indicating a statistically significant improvement in the segmentation of reflex. Our findings show that an elaborate design based on the lowest-level skip connection and 1 × 1 convolution at initial stage enhances the segmentation of pupil light reflexes. The source code of the proposed network is available at https://github.com/tkdgur658/ReflexNet .