I have already lost count of the times I was approached by mothers of people with albinism looking to know how to correct the visual impairments that have affected us since we were little ones. My answer is always to take the children to the ophthalmologist as soon as possible, as soon as they start to sit and crawl. They tell me that doctors do not accept to assist children who do not yet speak, as they are unable to communicate with them to carry out an effective consultation.
At first he admired me. We, children with visual impairments - not only with albinism - who were born in the 60s, 70s or even 80s of the last century, made our sight consultations not before the age of 10. In my case, I did all my primary, secondary and high school education only with sunglasses without graduation. But that was because we were poor and in the provinces where we lived, there were no medical conditions for pediatric ophthalmology (sight consultation for children). I never realized that, in addition, there is also the problem that doctors themselves cannot do it to babies who still do not speak and that this issue persists today in our health units, in the middle of the XNUMXst century. Suddenly, I realized that we have yet another factor of discrimination and exclusion of children, especially those who have albinism, and with a propensity for impaired vision such as myopia (low vision), nystagmus (horizontal pupil tremors), photophobia ( dazzling) and others.
Dissatisfied, I decided to research the subject. Because I did not believe that at a time when the pupil prosthesis is already being tried to recover blindness, medical science had not advanced in the development of ophthalmic practice techniques in babies. Especially because the sooner the vision is treated, the less damaged it gets. And in fact I discovered that it is possible to treat low vision in babies. The World Health Organization estimates that 19 million children worldwide are visually impaired. If detected early, up to 80% of cases are easily treatable. In developing countries, 60% of children who go blind die within a year. But in many places, pediatric ophthalmologists are scarce. With this in mind, a Spanish doctor, working with Huawei, developed a technology that makes it easier to diagnose eye problems in young children: a Track AI.
Traditionally, doctors diagnose vision disorders in young children by moving a finger or an object in front of the eyes and observing the reaction. For its part, TrackAI consists of artificial intelligence that analyzes the eyes of children while watching visual stimuli on devices. The results need to be verified by an ophthalmologist, but the technology significantly simplifies testing in young children, especially in babies who are unable to speak or remain quiet. This technology was created through a partnership between DIVE - a startup founded by Drª. Victoria Pueyo, a pediatric ophthalmologist in Zaragoza, Spain - and the medical institute IIS Aragon, in conjunction with technology giant Huawei.
The algorithms are still being trained to collect the eye movement data of children with visual impairment. But they promise to save the sight of millions of people even before they speak. This technology is so simple to use that it can be adapted to the cell phone and ordinary mothers can easily use it to check and monitor the health of their young babies' eyesight.
This turns out to be one more of the advantages that Angola can achieve with the urgent investment in the capacity of connectivity throughout the national territory. Ophthalmologists can be trained in the use of this technology and provide high-quality consultations to children with visual impairments anywhere in the country. This also answers those who ask whether investment in connectivity should be made before the production of food, health, education, roads and other basic infrastructures. Connectivity, today, is the avenue where it passes and facilitates development in these and in all areas of people's lives.
Article written by Celso Malavoloneke , published in MenosFios with the authorization of its press office.
