Cataract Detector

Inspiration

My (Niharika's) uncle suffered a major accident recently, which left him in a full body cast for a span of a few months. Before the accident, he was supposed to get his eyes checked, after a doctor said that he was developing cataracts. However, after the accident, they were not able to travel far enough to reach a good ophthalmologist, so his cataracts have now blinded him permanently. I was very close with my uncle, and I was shocked at the lack of accessibility to doctors in my family, which is considered to be well-off. For those who are much poorer, annual eye check-ups aren't even an possibility - they just try to avoid the inevitable, which leads to improper or delayed diagnosis. Improper diagnosis is particularly a problem in rural parts of developing countries, where there is a lack of doctors are not specially trained in ophthalmology. This app will allow people to self-diagnose themselves, so that they know that they need treatment in advance and can gather the resources to provide for treatment. According to a UN study, mobile phones are more common than toilets, so the potential for an app in these developing and/or rural areas is huge. We combine that potential with a simple photo processing software to determine risk of cataracts. We believe that no one should have to live a day without sight that could've been prevented.

How it works

The user opens the app and takes a picture of the person being diagnosed, focusing the image by placing the pupil in the circle located on the photo screen. When the user clicks "Analyze," a photo processing algorithm analyzes the pixels in the pupil, and if a significant amount appear cloudy (white), it will give the user an alert that they need medical attention.

Challenges I ran into

We both have only learned introductory Java in our computer science classes, so building an app in a completely different environment, using a totally new language, was incredibly difficult for us. Since Objective-C is derived from C, which is a very complex language, we found this challenging. However, we got past these challenges by watching/reading tutorials, attending the iOS workshop, and at 5 AM, taking a nap to refresh ourselves before trying to solve our problems.

Accomplishments that I'm proud of

At the beginning of the Hackathon, we decided that we wanted to build an app - we were sure about that. Once we decided that we would create a Cataract Detector app, our very first Objective-C coding challenge was to design the camera interface, which, as one would imagine, was a pretty large first task. Since we were starting from the basics, we were reading tutorials and scouring the internet until 2 AM. Then it clicked. We both understood what we were doing, and designing the rest of the app was much less daunting. Overcoming that first hill was our biggest accomplishment. Also, for two students with only Java knowledge, it was also amazing to create an app.

What I learned

We both learned how app user interfaces work, how view controllers and app delegates interact, and all the work that goes behind creating apps that we sometimes take for granted, like the messages app. We also learned the basics of a new language, which I personally like a lot more than Java. I think the most important thing we learned in this hackathon was that anyone, regardless of experience, can build an app or website if they put their minds to it (and drown themselves in online tutorials!) Also, I've been interested in international development for a long time, and this app is one example of how I can bring by interest in that with my love for computer science, and I think it bears witness to the idea that CS can be used anywhere, anytime, as long as there's a problem that needs a solution.

What's next for Cataract Detector

We went to the Reticare workshop today, and after speaking to CEO Nilo García Manchado, we decided that we plan to take this app further, flesh out all potential features, including a risk assessment based on age, computer use, genetics, etc. Furthermore, Mr. Manchado has expressed interest in helping us make this app a reality and designing a product that can truly touch the lives of millions. So this summer (after finals), we'll be working together to create a full-fledged an app and release it on the Apple App Store and hopefully, with the help of Reticare, we might be able to create a startup in which we provide free medical tools for everyone.

Built With

• objective-c