Startup plans to turn face recognition software on genetic disorders

Nov 1, 2016

Planet Biometrics – “Health startup FDNA plans to identify genetic syndromes using facial recognition software.FDNA has developed a technology that allows this process to be automated and combined with phenotypic and genetic information. The firm integrates facial analyses with other phenotypic traits and variants from genetic tests, such as exome and genome sequencing, reports GenomeWeb.”Over the past year, it became more apparent that phenotyping is essential for that process – genotyping and phenotyping really walk hand in hand and are part of the same solution,” Dekel Gelbman, FDNA’s CEO, told GenomeWeb. “What we aspire to be is the leading phenotyping technology for this industry. And I think that through our collaborations, not only with clinicians but with all the diagnostic labs we’ve recently started collaborating with, we’re poised to be that technology in the very near future.”Using the Clinic app, doctors can upload a facial photograph of their patients. The FDNA software then analyses the photo and extracts a set of de-identified biomarkers, which it compares to a database of patients with confirmed genetic diagnoses. Based on facial similarity, it then generates a list of possible syndromes and associated phenotypic traits. Doctors can use this information to further evaluate their patient, while laboratories, through the Labs app, can use it to filter and prioritize variants from genetic tests.”