Fully Automatic ROP Screening System: NeoScan

描述（由申请人提供）：该I期项目的动机是与筛查早产儿视网膜病变（ROP）相关的当前问题。ROP是婴儿失明的主要原因。近年来，面临ROP风险的婴儿数量一直在增加。在美国，早产率从1981年的9.4%上升到2010年的12%，早产总数超过50万。新生儿疾病的管理在很大程度上取决于及时的筛查和干预。不幸的是，ROP筛查的报销水平较低，偏远地区ROP筛查设备不足，以及长期暴露于医疗事故行为，使得难以向有风险的新生儿提供适当的护理。为了缓解这些问题，视觉探索生物医学有限责任公司及其合作者，奥克兰大学（MI）和南德克萨斯视网膜研究所（RIST）将演示和测试NeoScan，这是一种用于自动ROP筛查的软件系统，可提供改进的视网膜图像质量和准确量化血管弯曲和口径，这些因素已被证明与ROP晚期的存在相关。NeoScan的目标是减少晚期ROP诊断的可变性，并为准确筛查新生儿提供工具。该项目将在多个层面影响公共卫生。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This Phase I project is motivated by current issues associated with screening for retinopathy of prematurity (ROP). ROP is the leading cause of blindness in infants. In recent years the number of infants at risk for ROP has been increasing. In the United States, the rate of prematurity has risen from 9.4% of all births in 1981 to 12% in 2010, for a total of over 500,000 preterm births. Neonate disease management depends largely on timely screening and intervention. Unfortunately, low reimbursement levels for ROP screening, insufficient equipment for ROP screening in remote locations, and long-term exposure to medical malpractice actions make it difficult to provide appropriate care to neonates at risk. To mitigate these problems, Vision Quest Biomedical LLC and its collaborators, Oakland University (MI) and the Retina Institute of South Texas (RIST) will demonstrate and test NeoScan, a software system for automatic ROP screening that provides improved retinal image quality and accurate quantification of vasculature tortuosity and caliber, factors that have been demonstrated to correlate with the presence of advanced stages of ROP. The objectives of NeoScan are to reduce variability in the diagnosis of advanced stages of ROP and to provide a tool for accurate screening of neonates. This project will impact public health at multiple levels. The societal significance of this project is manifested by the large number of neonates that require ROP screening, and the current difficulties to access ROP care in remote and underserved locations. Through the development of NeoScan, we will be able to provide appropriate and widespread ROP screening. The economic significance is evidenced by the cost-effectiveness studies that have shown that appropriate treatment for ROP would lead to annual savings of $500 million. The commercial impact of tele-screening using the NeoScan will also be very high, allowing ROP screening to become affordable and widespread.