GlucoLens

Inspiration

According to the International Diabetes Federation, over 400 million people worldwide are living with diabetes. The current method for monitoring blood glucose levels is often invasive, requiring individuals to draw blood through finger pricks and perform strip testing. This method can be painful, inconvenient, and costly for many. Inspired by the need for a more user-friendly and affordable solution, we envisioned GlucoLens which is a non-invasive, painless alternative that leverages eye imaging to monitor glucose levels.

What it does

GlucoLens allows users to monitor their blood glucose levels without the need for finger pricks. By using a mobile phone camera with an affordable lens attachment, users can take an image of their eye, which is uploaded to our application. Our AI-powered system then analyzes the image to predict blood glucose levels quickly and accurately.

How we built it

We built GlucoLens by combining cutting-edge AI and machine learning algorithms with mobile technology. We developed a mobile application that captures eye images using a lens attached to the phone's camera. The captured images are then processed through a machine learning model, trained on medical data to predict blood glucose levels. The backend system is powered by cloud services to handle image processing and AI inference.

Challenges we ran into

One of the major challenges we faced was ensuring the accuracy of glucose predictions based on eye images. We addressed this by conducting parallel tests with patients undergoing traditional strip testing at hospitals. By comparing the results from both the strip tests and our application, we were able to validate and refine our application's accuracy. Training the AI model required a substantial amount of medical data, which was initially difficult to obtain. To overcome this, we collected data from hospitals, organized testing camps, and leveraged available medical data to enhance the robustness of our model.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We are proud of creating a truly non-invasive solution that could potentially revolutionize glucose monitoring for millions of people. Despite the technical challenges, we successfully built a working prototype that accurately predicts blood glucose levels using eye imaging. We also developed a user-friendly interface to make the app accessible to people of all ages.

What we learned

Throughout this project, we learned a great deal about the intricacies of machine learning in medical applications. We gained insights into the importance of quality data, the challenges of creating accurate models, and the complexities of working with mobile hardware. Most importantly, we realized how impactful technological solutions can be in improving people’s lives.

What's next for GlucoLens

Moving forward, we plan to refine our AI model to improve accuracy further and work on obtaining clinical validation for GlucoLens. We aim to collaborate with healthcare professionals and expand the application to a wider audience. Additionally, we plan to explore partnerships to bring the product to market and make it more affordable and accessible for diabetic patients worldwide.