Imaging-analysis technique allows diagnosis of diabetes-related eye problems over the Internet.

Wired News reports that an imaging-analysis technique developed by researchers at the University of Tennessee for finding defects in semiconductors is now being used to diagnose the eye problems associated with diabetes over the Internet. Pictures of the retinas of patients with diabetes are uploaded to a server that compares them to a database of thousands of other images of healthy and diseased eyes.

Algorithms can assign a disease level to the new eye image by looking at the same factors, mainly damage to blood vessels, that an eye doctor would. Currently, more than 25 million Americans suffer from diabetes, which, if left untreated, can cause blindness, among other physical problems. This new technology could help reduce the cost and increase the availability of screening for the eye problems that impair the vision of thousands of patients each year.

Posted in: Diabetic retinopathy, Technology