Watson Looks into Eyes

Researchers at IBM have announced that they have trained the Watson supercomputer to look for abnormalities in retinal images that represent an increased risk of eye diseases such as glaucoma. The research applied deep learning techniques and image analytics technology to 88,000 de-identified retina images to analyze abnormalities.

According to Dr. Joanna Batstone, VP and Lab Director of IBM Research Australia, where the research was conducted, “Medical images represent a rich source of data for clinicians to make early diagnosis and treatment of disease, from assessing the risk of melanomas to identifying eye diseases through the analysis of retinas. Cognitive technology holds immense promise for confirming the accuracy, reproducibility, and efficiency of clinician’s analyses during the diagnostic workflow.”

For more information, see the press release at the IBM site.