Using technology to facilitate access to healthcare

Cataracts are the world’s leading cause of treatable blindness and severe visual impairment, especially affecting people aged 50 or over. They are a particularly serious problem in India, and studies have shown that about 4.8 million people become blind due to cataracts each year. Unfortunately, India has an insufficient number of cataract screening centers, and many elderly people in India find it difficult to travel to be tested. As a result, many cataract cases are not detected in time.

To address this problem, a team in PwC India worked with a client and developed an AI solution which was integrated with the client's smartphone application. 

The solution can detect the presence of a cataract by analyzing the picture of an eye captured using a phone camera. The app then alerts the user if a cataract has been found. It is convenient for any volunteer with a smartphone to use this application for door-to-door screening of the elderly. People who are found to have advanced cataracts can then be referred to local health officials for further treatment. The development and implementation of our smartphone-based cataract detection solution involved interdisciplinary collaboration between medical professionals, engineers and researchers. Further, the solution underwent rigorous testing and validation to ensure its safety, reliability and effectiveness.

• Accessibility and affordability: This is a near-zero-cost solution that is not intended to generate revenue, and hence aligns with PwC’s purpose of building trust in society and solving important problems.
• Convenience of doorstep screening: Elderly individuals often face challenges in accessing healthcare services, particularly in remote areas or if they have limited mobility. Moreover, someone must accompany them and thus bear an economic cost in terms of, for instance, the loss of a day’s wages. Door-to-door screening eliminates the need for elderly individuals to travel to a healthcare facility and related dependencies.
• Enhanced coverage of remote areas: Health volunteers who are already embedded within local communities can visit individuals in remote areas, capturing eye images or videos with the app and inputting basic patient information.