Gurugram teen's AI app screens 1,650 villagers after grandma's eye illness
Siddhartha Manaktala, at just 17 years old, has developed EyeSpy, an innovative AI smartphone app tailored for eye disease screening. In rural Haryana, he has successfully screened over 1,650 individuals, many of whom were previously unaware of their vision problems. With enhancements from the L V Prasad Eye Institute, EyeSpy now identifies seven eye diseases and operates offline on basic…
Siddhartha Manaktala, a 17-year-old student from Gurugram, has developed an AI-powered smartphone app called EyeSpy. The app screens for seven common eye diseases and aims to provide early diagnosis for those who would otherwise go undetected. Manaktala's motivation stems from his own family's eye health issues and his observations while traveling to rural communities to set up eye-screening camps.
His first attempt at building the AI model faced challenges, but he sought guidance from ophthalmology experts and refined the system. The current version of EyeSpy can operate offline on basic Android devices and has achieved a screening accuracy of 90.1% in field tests. The app has screened over 1,650 people in rural and suburban Haryana, with 99% of those never having received an eye examination before.
Manaktala has partnered with organizations like Lenskart and has received mentorship from the L V Prasad Eye Institute. Despite his success, the teenager remains focused on addressing the accessibility and affordability of eye care by providing glasses, medicines, and awareness campaigns.
Written by urgent.news from Times of India's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
