Leveraging Semi-Supervised Graph Learning for Enhanced Diabetic
  Retinopathy Detection
D. Dhinakaran L. Srinivasan D. Selvaraj S. M. Udhaya Sankar
Diabetic Retinopathy (DR) is a significant cause of blindness globally,
highlighting the urgent need for early detection and effective treatment.
Recent advancements in Machine Learning (ML) techniques have shown promise in
DR detection, but the availability of labeled data often limits their
performance. This research proposes a novel Semi-Supervised Graph Learning SSGL
algorithm tailored for DR detection, which capitalizes on the relationships
between labelled and unlabeled data to enhance accuracy. The work begins by
investigating data augmentation and preprocessing techniques to address the
challenges of image quality and feature variations. Techniques such as image
cropping, resizing, contrast adjustment, normalization, and data augmentation
are explored to optimize feature extraction and improve the overall quality of
retinal images. Moreover, apart from detection and diagnosis, this work delves
into applying ML algorithms for predicting the risk of developing DR or the
likelihood of disease progression. Personalized risk scores for individual
patients are generated using comprehensive patient data encompassing
demographic information, medical history, and retinal images. The proposed
Semi-Supervised Graph learning algorithm is rigorously evaluated on two
publicly available datasets and is benchmarked against existing methods.
Results indicate significant improvements in classification accuracy,
specificity, and sensitivity while demonstrating robustness against noise and
outlie rs.Notably, the proposed algorithm addresses the challenge of imbalanced
datasets, common in medical image analysis, further enhancing its practical
applicability.