Diabetic Retinopathy Classification using Transfer learning

Abstract

Diabetic Retinopathy (DR) is an eye illness that impacts individuals who have diabetes and damages their retina over time, eventually causing blindness. Due to lesions in the retina that are formed because of retinal blood vessel rupture, it impairs vision and, in the worst-case scenario, results in severe blindness. To prevent severity and to lessen challenges in identifying tiny lesions throughout the disease's advanced stages, it is now crucial to diagnose the condition early as, it manifests itself without any symptoms. Even ophthalmologists find it challenging and time-consuming to identify this condition. Early DR case identification and classification is essential for delivering the required medical care. This study proposes applying deep learning techniques to detect DR in retinal fundus images. The data acquired for this process may be incomplete and imbalanced. Data augmentation balances the data and increase the quantity of retinal images. As deep-learning algorithms need more data to process, DCGAN Augmentation technique is employed. The CNN (Convolutional Neural Network) methods, specifically the VGG16 and DenseNet121 architectures, are employed for DR early detection in order to let patients to receive therapy at the appropriate time.