Meet Edward Kang, 17, who trained AI to screen for autism and ADHD

For his project, Kang trained AI models to detect patterns associated with neurodevelopmental disorders from a large public dataset of retinal images. Instead of one approach, he used several techniques to improve the performance of the models. What if a simple picture of the eye could help doctors diagnose neurodevelopmental conditions earlier? For 17-year-old Edward Kang of Hackensack, New Jersey, that question became the foundation for an ambitious science project that combines neuroscience, artificial intelligence and cell biology. His research, RetinaMind: Novel In Silico and In Vitro Retinal Models of Neurodevelopmental Disorders, investigated the potential for retinal images to provide clues related to autism and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), reports Society for Science. The project won Kang a $175,000 science prize, highlighting his work as a prime example of how young researchers are tackling complex challenges in medicine, the report adds. Scroll down to read the details.Investigating the connection between the eye and the brainIf we go by the medical science, a diagnosis of autism or ADHD can take a long time – sometimes months or even years. And Kang’...