Sankara Eye Foundation and Singapore-based Leben Care are deploying a retina risk assessment software-as-a-service platform in India using technology from Intel.

Netra.AI cloud-based artificial intelligence (AI) is powered by Intel technology and uses deep learning to identify retinal conditions in a short time with the accuracy level of human doctors. Netra.AI can accurately identify diabetic retinopathy (DR), reducing the screening burden on vitreoretinal surgeons.

“The use of AI to improve disease detection and prevention is a critical step for the healthcare industry and a giant leap for humankind,” said Prakash Mallya, vice president for Intel in India. “India has one of the largest diabetic populations in the world and diabetic retinopathy is the major cause for vision loss and blindness in persons of working age. With Netra.AI, Sankara Eye Foundation and Leben Care have leveraged the power of Intel Xeon scalable processors and built-in Intel deep learning boost to accurately detect DR and enable timely treatment to effectively combat avoidable vision impairment and blindness in diabetic patients.”

India has one of the largest diabetic populations of any country in the world, approaching 98 million cases by 2030. Research shows that DR is a leading cause of blindness and vision loss in adults, and early detection and treatment is critical to stopping the damage. However, the lack of trained retinal specialists in India, especially in remote, rural regions, limits effective screening of asymptomatic patients. This results in patients presenting late with advanced diabetic eye disease.

“Technology and AI are democratising healthcare access, especially in screening for ailments,” said Kaushik Murali, president of medical administration at Sankara Eye Foundation in India. “Our team at Sankara Eye Foundation has focused on our vision to eliminate needless blindness from India. The current solution, Netra.AI – where we had a key role in the design and development with Leben Care – uses robust AI-enabled platforms from Intel. It is an example of how like-minded collaborators can create meaningful and impactful solutions for various challenges that face humanity.”

Netra.AI analyses images from portable, technician-operated fundus camera devices, for immediate results of referable DR grading via a cloud-based web portal. It uses AI algorithms, developed with retina experts, with a four-step deep convolutional neural network. This helps in detecting DR stage and annotating lesions based on pixel density in the fundus images.

This can be expanded to other retinal conditions and glaucoma, helping reduce the screening burden on healthcare specialists and focus resources on patients who need immediate care and intervention.

So far, Netra.AI has screened 3093 patients in India and identified 742 at-risk patients. It generates detailed reports within two minutes of uploading images and offers immediate and accurate diagnosis to help doctors provide instant counsel for patients needing a referral to the hospital. It is a tool for screening retinal illnesses in large populations with limited infrastructure, resources and an overburdened healthcare system.

Netra.AI is optimised for Intel Xeon scalable processors with built-in deep learning boost and vector extension acceleration. Intel architecture delivers data protection, fast processing of large data volumes and service flexibility. This gives users access to Intel-optimised images for TensorFlow, Apache MXNet and PyTorch, in addition to Intel performance libraries, to enhance application performance.