Automatic detection of eye abnormalities

In his doctoral thesis, Meindert Niemeijer argues it is possible to use a computer to automatically detect the symptoms of diabetic retinopathy.

This complication of diabetes is the most common cause of blindness and poor vision in the labor force in Western countries. Earlier research has shown that detecting this eye disease at an early stage can prevent poor vision. Color digital photographs of the retina can be used to detect this disease. The complete, fully developed system was tested on a large set of 40,000 eye photos.

Meindert Niemeijer received his PhD from Utrecht University on December 20. The title of his thesis is, “Automatic Detection of Diabetic Retinopathy in Digital Fundus Photographs.”