AI tool to detect retinopathy of prematurity in preterm infants
Official title: Deep Learning-based Diagnosis of Retinopathy of Prematurity
Funded at The Trustees of the Stevens Institute of Technology · NIH-11164687 · Data updated 2026-11-12
Using artificial intelligence to help doctors spot sight-threatening retinopathy in premature babies.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | The Trustees of the Stevens Institute of Technology NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Hoboken, United States) |
| Project start | September 1, 2024 |
| Project end | August 31, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $504,847 |
| NIH project number | 5R01EY036203-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11164687 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Premature infants undergoing ROP screening whose retinal images can be shared with the research team with parental consent.
✕Less likely to help
Adults, children without ROP, or infants who do not have retinal imaging available would not directly participate or benefit from this project.
What this research studies
As a parent of a premature infant, this project aims to create an AI that learns from retinal photos to recognize treatment-needed ROP such as plus disease. The team will expand limited training data using image-augmentation techniques and work to make images from different cameras comparable. They will train and test the model to improve consistent detection despite variable image quality. The goal is a reliable diagnostic aid that can be applied across hospitals and imaging systems.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: Could enable earlier and more consistent detection of treatment-required ROP, helping reduce preventable childhood blindness.
How similar studies have gone: AI has successfully aided detection of other retinal diseases and some early ROP tools showed promise, but applying models across different cameras and small infant datasets remains a challenge.
Where this research is happening
-
The Trustees of the Stevens Institute of Technology
Hoboken, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Kang-Mieler, Jennifer J — The Trustees of the Stevens Institute of Technology
- Study coordinator: Kang-Mieler, Jennifer J
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.