An AI-based
retinal image analysis system for the automated detection of
diabetic retinopathy, comprising the following: an
image acquisition unit consisting of an optical arrangement with a coaxial illumination source, a multi-lens arrangement and an
image sensor for capturing
retinal images; a preprocessing unit that is operationally coupled with the
image acquisition unit and is configured to receive the
retinal fundus images and perform image normalization including illumination correction,
noise reduction and
contrast enhancement; a
feature extraction unit comprising at least one processor configured to perform a variety of folding operations on the preprocessed retinal fundus images to generate hierarchical feature representations corresponding to the
anatomical structures and
pathological regions of the
retina; a classification unit comprising at least one processor configured to process the hierarchical feature representations and produce a severity classification output corresponding to the stages of
diabetic retinopathy; a storage unit that is operationally coupled to the
feature extraction unit and the classification unit and stores the trained parameters assigned to the
feature extraction unit and the classification unit; and a display unit configured to show the user the severity classification output and the corresponding
diagnostic information.