Fully Automatic ROP Screening System: NeoScan

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This Phase I project is motivated by current issues associated with screening for retinopathy of prematurity (ROP). ROP is the leading cause of blindness in infants. In recent years the number of infants at risk for ROPhas been increasing. In the United States, the rate of prematurity has risen from 9.4% of all births in 1981 to 12% in 2010, for a total of over 500,000 preterm births. Neonate disease management depends largely on timely screening and intervention. Unfortunately, low reimbursement levels for ROP screening, insufficient equipment for ROP screening in remote locations, and long-term exposure to medical malpractice actions make it difficult to provide appropriate care to neonates at risk. To mitigate these problems, Vision Quest Biomedical LLC and its collaborators, Oakland University (MI) and the Retina Institute of South Texas (RIST) will demonstrate and test NeoScan, a software system for automatic ROP screening that provides improved retinal image qu