IIIT-H researchers invent AI-based tool to detect malnutrition

Hyderabad: Researchers at the International Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) in Hyderabad have come up with a new AI-based tool that will help revolutionise the way malnutrition is detected among children. According to officials, a new smartphone-based tool is being developed by researchers at the Raj Reddy Centre for Technology and Society (RCTS) at IIIT-Hyderabad, representing a significant departure from the traditional practice of manual recording of measurement scales, which are prone to human errors.

The researchers have come up with two setups where the measurement can be taken with the web app on a smartphone. In the first, by placing the smartphone over the child’s head, two images are taken, i.e., one of the weighing scale reading and the other of the region directly in front of the scale. In the second method, with the child standing against a wall with a height chart, a photograph of the child as well as of the weighing scale is captured. Images thus generated are analysed to derive the height and weight measurements, which are in turn compared with standard growth charts to generate malnutrition estimates. The web app comes with pictograms, guiding how to position the smartphone and the child for taking photographs.

The app also displays appropriate warnings based on malnutrition, and such information is sent to parents and those concerned. The current AI for the web app is being planned in both English and Hindi, said a senior officer.

“We are also exploring the feasibility of using 3D anthropometry, that is, 3D reconstruction of subjects using 2D images. This is part of a larger effort by the RCTS to create an AI solution for reducing morbidity and mortality in newborns via automatic anthropometry measurements,” he added.