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Team 4, EyeInterface, is working in conjunction with National Instruments to develop a virtual instrument that takes the image of a retina and electronically identifies and tracks diabetic retinopathy. Diabetic retinopathy is the most common set of complications associated with diabetes that can lead to blindness. Retinopathy can be treated if diagnosed early, but the diagnosis involves frequent trips to an ophthalmologist. There is a significant opportunity to enhance the care and diagnosis of the progression of retinopathy that will affect the treatment of over 14 million diabetics by the almost 5000 endocrinologists and other caregivers who serve them.
There are many devices that have been designed to image the retina and provide useful diagnostic information, but this device will be unique in the fact that it seeks to identify the disease through a computer interface without an examination by a physician. With the increasing numbers of diabetic patients, doctors’ time is limited and this project will save physicians time and money as a diagnostic tool that can determine the progression of retinopathy. The device will also be developed as a low-cost alternative in diagnosing the progression of retinopathy.
The solution must be usable on different computers with a base requirement of LabView and must be usable with different cameras. Thus the solution will be a transportable and stand alone solution. The first phase will encompass all aspects of designing the device including a hardware platform for imaging, software for image capture and analysis, as well as the necessary features to be used in diagnosing the progression of the disease. Because early diagnosis of the progression from stage 3 to stage 4 is important to treatment, and because there are few symptoms before vision is lost, this instrument should allow for better tracking and diagnosis of patients, better treatment of patients, and will be another tool for analysis of the progression of diabetes related complications.
