Sano at World Sight Day 2023 

On the occasion of World Sight Day, celebrated annually on 12 October, Queen's University Belfast will present a poster that is a result of the collaboration with scientists from Sano: Dr Jose Sousa and PhD student Luca Gherardini.

The poster titled “Improving AMD classification using machine self-generated knowledge graphs and multidimensional data” represents the application of a novel approach to the representation, description, and classification of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), which is the leading cause of blindness in elderly patients. 

The aim of this new method is to overcome drawbacks in machine learning and deep learning techniques such as opaqueness and dependence on high volumes of complete data. 

The authors describe the method they developed: “We abstracted the multi-dimensional data in the EYE-RISK repository, transforming continuous values into discrete symbols. These were combined in knowledge graphs representing each AMD stage, allowing further analysis of the transition dynamics. Such representations showed intuitively the most relevant elements and how frequently they appeared together”.  

The new approach revealed well-known players in AMD, such as genetic and dietary factors, and how their role changed during retinal degeneration. The knowledge graphs allowed to classify the patients, obtaining higher accuracy than classical ML methods and showing how the representation can detect AMD without relying on retinal images. 

The event will be held in Belfast, United Kingdom, on 12 October.  

More about the event: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/world-sight-day-tickets-633862629187