Microsoft has created a research group in India to develop data-driven eye care services. The company is working with researchers from Brazil, Australia, India, and the United States to train machine-learning models to identify conditions that can lead to blindness.

The mission-driven global consortium of like-minded commercial, research, and academic institutions, called Microsoft Intelligent Network for Eyecare (MINE), was launched in collaboration with the L V Prasad Eye Institute.

Like Us on Facebook

Microsoft posted on its website the names of the partner organizations of this consortium which include the Federal University of Sao Paulo (Brazil), Brien Holden Vision Institute (Australia), Bascom Palmer (University of Miami), and Flaum Eye Institute (University of Rochester, USA). The partner organizations will collaborate and collectively work on diverse sets of patients to come up with machine learning models that can predict the rate of change of myopia in children, conditions that impact children's eyesight, outcomes of refractive surgery, optimal surgery parameters as well as ways to personalize a surgery and maximize its probability of success. As a result, MINE aims to prevent avoidable blindness and help increase efficiency in the delivery of eyecare worldwide.

Currently, 285 million people are visually impaired worldwide, of which 55 million reside in India. Microsoft will also deploy its leading cloud platform technology, Cortana Intelligence Suite, for advanced analytics and to build Artificial Intelligence models on eyecare.

As part of its next steps, MINE is expected to bring together different partner organizations on Azure and collectively work on ideas of impact.

Machine Learning has been one of Microsoft's key focus areas, both through research and development breakthroughs as well as translating the outcome into real customer impact.

The technology giant has engaged with L V Prasad Eye Institute to build a predictive model that helps predict regression rates for eye operations, enabling doctors to pinpoint the procedures needed to prevent and treat visual impairments. To boost Andhra Pradesh's education ecosystem, Microsoft has also been working with the state government on a machine learning-based model to analyze and predict dropouts and take preventive actions. Additionally, to aid digital agriculture in Andhra Pradesh, Microsoft has partnered with ICRISAT to provide powerful cloud-based predictive analytics to empower farmers with crucial information and insights to help reduce crop failures and increase yield, in turn, reducing stress and generating better income.