A computer-implementable method of analyzing tissues of a retina. A polarization-sensitive (PS-OCT) image data set of the retina is received from a polarization-sensitive device, each element in the polarization-sensitive image data set being associated with an intensity value ({I1, . . . , IL}) and a polarization direction ({P1, . . . , PL}). A likelihood score is determined for each element of the polarization-sensitive image data set based on the intensity value of the element and a degree of divergence (μ*TP or D2) of the polarization direction associated with the element from a reference polarization direction (μ*) associated with the polarization sensitive image data set, wherein the likelihood score indicates whether said element is drawn from a directionally polarized distribution or a depolarizing distribution, Elements of the polarization-sensitive image data set are classified using the determined likelihood scores to analyze tissues of the retina.