IIT, Kharagpur has developed a software for early-detection of diabetic retinopathy. This is a diabetes-related problem that could lead to blindness. Patients suffering from diabetes for more than 10 years are susceptible to this disease.
Funded by IBM India, the software would also help in risk categorisation of the disease. Named ‘Computer Vision Approach to Diabetic Retinopathy Screening’, the technology is undergoing “clinical trial” at Kolkata-based Susrut Eye Foundation and Research Center (SEFRC), Chandan Chakrabarty of IIT Kharagpur, who is principal coordinator of the project, said.
“The software uses data analytics capabilities to automatically compare and analyse retina images of the patient. It not only detects whether the patient has diabetic retinopathy, but also provides risk categorisation ranging from low to medium and high,” Chakrabarty said.
He was attending the Shared University Research awards ceremony here on Wednesday. The award is promoted by IBM India. It would take nearly a year for commercial use of the software, Chakrabarty said
According to him, the development process for the software was started in March last year jointly by IIT, Kharagpur, in association IBM India and Susrut Eye Foundation and Research Center (SEFRC), Kolkata.
“The accuracy level is the software is as high as 92 per cent,” Anirudh Maity of SEFRC said.