Swiss AI tech helps determine biological age from retina images

A new artificial intelligence (AI) system developed by the University of Lausanne can determine a person’s biological age from photographs of the retina, thereby assessing their risk of diseases such as cancer or dementia. A significant difference between the biological age determined in this way and actual age indicates increased health risks, as the university announced on Wednesday. According to the study, a higher biological age of the retina is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, cancer and dementia. The researchers published their findings in the journal Nature Communications. To develop their method, the scientists trained an AI algorithm using images of more than 70,000 people aged between 40 and 79. The model estimates retinal age with an average deviation of less than three years from actual age. Differences between men and women The study also revealed clear differences between men and women. In men, a retina that appeared older ...