In a breakthrough study, a team of researchers has developed a computer algorithm that can predict different diseases by analysing the colour of a tongue with 98 per cent accuracy.
The imaging system can diagnose diabetes, stroke, anaemia, asthma, liver and gallbladder conditions, COVID-19, along with a range of vascular and gastrointestinal issues.
The engineering researchers from Middle Technical University (MTU) and the University of South Australia (UniSA) conducted experiments where they used 5260 images to train machine learning algorithms to detect tongue colour.
The images were of patients with various health conditions, and the team found that the artificial intelligence (AI) model was able to match the tongue colour with the disease in almost all cases.
The paper, published in Technologies, outlines how the proposed system analyses tongue colour to provide on-the-spot diagnosis.
Senior author, MTU and UniSA Adjunct Associate Professor Ali Al-Naji, commented: “The colour, shape and thickness of the tongue can reveal a litany of health conditions.
“Typically, people with diabetes have a yellow tongue; cancer patients a purple tongue with a thick greasy coating; and acute stroke patients present with an unusually shaped red tongue.
“A white tongue can indicate anaemia; people with severe cases of COVID-19 are likely to have a deep red tongue; and an indigo or violet coloured tongue indicates vascular and gastrointestinal issues or asthma.”
In the study, cameras placed 20 centimetres from a patient captured their tongue colour and the imaging system predicted their health condition in real time.
Co-author UniSA Professor Javaan Chahl says that in the future, smartphones will be used to diagnose disease in this way: “These results confirm that computerised tongue analysis is a secure, efficient, user friendly and affordable method for disease screening that backs up modern methods with a centuries-old practice,” Prof Chahl says.
