Teen Develops App to Diagnose Eye Disease

Meet Kavya Kopparapu, 16, who may have just revolutionized the world of ophthalmology.


Meet the founder and CEO of GirlsComputingLeague, Kavya Kopparapu, age 16. Not only does she provide a powerful platform for girls to explore and master computer sciences, but Kavya may have also just revolutionized the world of ophthalmology—all with a quick photo snap from a phone.

People with diabetes are susceptible to the common eye affliction diabetic retinopathy (DR), which often goes undetected and leads to blindness. When Kavya’s grandfather in India started experiencing symptoms of DR, she was inspired to develop Eyeagnosis, a simple, cheap and accurate screening tool.

So how did she do it? The computer whizz developed a smartphone app that can screen for the disease with the help of a specially trained artificial intelligence (AI) program and a simple 3D-printed lens attachment. The AI system was trained to recognize signs of diabetic retinopathy in photos of eyes and offer a preliminary diagnosis.


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