Artificial intelligence once again supports medicine. This time you can use the free app to detect eye diseases.
When the pupil is illuminated with a retinoscope, a red reflex should be visible in the eye. Sometimes, however, he is white. This symptom is called leukokoria or simply a white pupil.
Leukokoria is not a disease in itself, but it may indicate other diseases. More specifically, over 30 diseases, most often associated with these symptoms are congenital cataracts, retinoblastoma, retinal detachment, persistent hyperplastic primary vitreous and Coats disease.
In other words – a symptom of a white pupil indicates that something bad is happening to the eye. Application can help in detecting diseases.
CRADLE: an app that detects leukocoria
As part of testing the CRADLE (ComputeR-Assisted Detector of LEukocoria) application, the researchers used nearly 53,000 photos of 40 children, taken at different stages of their lives. Half of the children in the study group had retinoblastoma, Coats disease, cataracts, amblyopia or hyperopia.
Up to 80 percent cases, based on machine learning, the algorithm was to detect leukokoria on average 1.3 years prior to the diagnosis of doctors (refer to a resolution from 0.4 to 2.3 years).
The application is not new, but its operation is only now described in detail in the scientific magazine Science Advances.
CRADLE: an app that detects leukocoria
The creators of the application point out that – despite the high efficiency of the algorithm – it can not boast the approval of any medical regulator. A test carried out with the use of CRADLE cannot therefore be regarded as a substitute for a professional test.
On the other hand, using the application costs nothing, so even such a simplified study will not hurt. It looks like my eyes are fine.
Out of curiosity, I downloaded several photos of people with – apparently – diagnosed eye diseases. CRADLE has pointed to leukocoria in most, but not all.
Apka can both analyze photos from the gallery and use the preview from the front or rear camera. It can be downloaded on Android and iOS.