By Aleksander Solum
HONG KONG (Reuters) – A Hong Kong scientist has developed a method of using machine learning and artificial intelligence to scan six-year-olds’ retinas to detect early autism or the risk of autism, and hopes to have a to develop commercial product.
Retinal eye scans can help improve early detection and treatment outcomes for children, said Benny Zee, a professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
“The importance of early intervention is that they are still growing, but that they are still evolving. So there is a greater chance of success,” Zee said.
His method uses a high-resolution camera with new computer software that analyzes a combination of factors, including fiber layers and blood vessels in the eye.
The technology can be used to identify children at risk for autism and get them into treatment programs earlier, Zee said.
Seventy children were tested using the technology, 46 with autism and a control group of 24. The technology was able to identify the children with autism 95.7 percent of the time. The mean age tested was 13, with the youngest six.
Zee’s findings were published in EClinicalMedicine, a peer-reviewed medical journal.
Autism specialists welcome his findings, but say there remains a great stigma, while parents are often reluctant to believe that their children have autism, even if there are clear signs.
“Many times, parents will initially be denied,” says Dr. Caleb Knight, who runs a private autism therapy center.
“If you have had a medical test or a biological marker like this, it can make it easier for parents to no longer be denied and therefore the child will get treatment faster.”
Children with autism have to wait about 80 weeks to see a specialist in the public medical sector, according to an email from the Hong Kong government.
Zee told Reuters that his research was intended to be a complementary tool to a professional assessment by licensed health professionals.
(Edited by Alexander Solum; Written by Farah Master; Edited by Karishma Singh and Michael Perry)