Berkeley, California: Scientists at the University of California, San Diego have developed a smartphone app that can help diagnose Alzheimer's, ADHD and other neurological disorders by looking at the inside of the eye.
Some of the newer cameras have Near Infrared cameras for face recognition and the app uses them too. It notices the change in the size of the pupil of the eye and warns of acquired degeneration.
Details will be presented at the recent ACM Computer Human Interaction Conference, which runs from April 30 to May 5.
Professor Colin Berry and his colleagues say that although more research is needed, the technology could be used for neuroscience and brain screening. It can even be tested at home and in public places. This is expected to open new doors for the diagnosis of mental illness.
In recent years, it has become known that the shape of a pearl inside the eye can be used to get information about mental conditions. For example, during difficult mental work or hearing a loud sound, the pupil of the eye expands. That is why many tests have been developed on the narrowing and dilation of the pupil of the eye, which can easily detect many neurological diseases, but before that it was possible only under the supervision of a specialist in the laboratory and expensive equipment.
Experts from the Digital Health Lab at the University of California, Berkeley, have experimented with smartphone cameras in collaboration with a number of psychiatrists. In this way, it can become an important tool for quickly diagnosing a large number of people without any discomfort. In particular, it can diagnose Alzheimer's disease.
Changes in the pupil of the eye can be detected on the near infrared spectrum. From this, even a small fraction of a millimeter of change can be detected by the app. The app examines the eye first with normal color and light and then with near infrared.
It should be noted that the app works just like a papometer which is also a world standard instrument and scale for measuring the size of a slim. In addition, many features have been added to the app. You have to have a plastic eye scope (scope) on the eye which is very cheap and easy to use. The app then guides the use of voice. Elderly people can also get an eye examination on their own.
In this way, the thinning of the skin can be used to detect the first attack of Alzheimer's.