Aplicación Móvil para Análisis Ocular Preventiva de la Retinopatía Diabética

Diabetic retinopathy was identified as one of the main complications associated with diabetes and an important cause of preventable vision loss. Early detection of retinal alterations represented a challenge in contexts where access to eye care specialists was limited. In response to this situation, the purpose of this study was to develop and evaluate a mobile application called Visual Health App, designed to support ocular analysis and promote visual self-care through the use of mobile devices. The system was developed using a software engineering approach based on a modular architecture. The application allowed the capture of eye images using the mobile phone camera and processed them through an algorithm aimed at identifying possible indicators related to diabetic retinopathy. Among the analyzed elements were alterations in blood vessels, abnormal vascular proliferation, the presence of hemorrhages, and microaneurysms. To evaluate the initial performance of the tool, pilot tests were conducted with students from the Instituto Tecnológico Superior del Sur del Estado de Yucatán, whose ages ranged from 19 to 21 years. The results demonstrated the technical feasibility of the application and its capacity to generate preliminary analyses from images captured with smartphones. It was concluded that the tool represented a useful technological alternative to support preventive detection processes and strengthen visual health education, without replacing the evaluation carried out by healthcare professionals.