1. A method to acquire and process vitreous image data to characterize vitreous inhomogeneities comprising the steps of: creating a unit, said creating a unit comprising transmitting at least one ultrasound signal, acquiring phase-resolved, raw backscatter echo data of said transmitted signal, and normalizing said acquired data, wherein said normalized acquired data forms said unit; the method further comprising: extracting local level estimates from said normalized data; and processing said extracted local level estimates, said processing producing at least one global parameter, said at least one global parameter being used to objectively characterize one or more vitreous inhomogeneities.