Detecting Glaucoma from Fundus Photographs Using Deep Learning without Convolutions: Transformer for Improved Generalization

PURPOSE: To compare the diagnostic accuracy and explainability of a Vision Transformer deep learning technique, Data-efficient image Transformer (DeiT), and ResNet-50, trained on fundus photographs from the Ocular Hypertension Treatment Study (OHTS) to detect primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) and identify the salient areas of the photographs most important for each model’s decision-making process. DESIGN: Evaluation of a diagnostic technology. SUBJECTS, PARTICIPANTS, AND CONTROLS: Overall 66 715 photographs from 1636 OHTS participants and an additional 5 external datasets of 16 137 photographs of healthy and glaucoma eyes. METHODS: Data-efficient image Transformer models were trained to detect 5 ground-truth OHTS POAG classifications: OHTS end point committee POAG determinations because of disc changes (model 1), visual field (VF) changes (model 2), or either disc or VF changes (model 3) and Reading Center determinations based on disc (model 4) and VFs (model 5). The best-performing DeiT models were compared with ResNet-50 models on OHTS and 5 external datasets. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Diagnostic performance was compared using areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) and sensitivities at fixed specificities. The explainability of the DeiT and ResNet-50 models was compared by evaluating the attention maps derived directly from DeiT to 3 gradient-weighted class activation map strategies. RESULTS: Compared with our best-performing ResNet-50 models, the DeiT models demonstrated similar performance on the OHTS test sets for all 5 ground-truth POAG labels; AUROC ranged from 0.82 (model 5) to 0.91 (model 1). Data-efficient image Transformer AUROC was consistently higher than ResNet-50 on the 5 external datasets. For example, AUROC for the main OHTS end point (model 3) was between 0.08 and 0.20 higher in the DeiT than ResNet-50 models. The saliency maps from the DeiT highlight localized areas of the neuroretinal rim, suggesting important rim features for classification. The same maps in the ResNet-50 models show a more diffuse, generalized distribution around the optic disc. CONCLUSIONS: Vision Transformers have the potential to improve generalizability and explainability in deep learning models, detecting eye disease and possibly other medical conditions that rely on imaging for clinical diagnosis and management.