%0 Journal Article %T Early Detection of Diabetic Retinopathy Using a Mobile-Based Deep Learning Framework %A Ahmed Ben Ali %A Samira Gharbi %A Nabil Jebali %J Journal of Medical Sciences and Interdisciplinary Research %@ 3108-4826 %D 2025 %V 5 %N 1 %R 10.51847/81LWc9jJmf %P 204-225 %X Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a major contributor to blindness worldwide, particularly in areas with limited access to ophthalmic services. Timely identification is critical to preventing permanent vision impairment and improving clinical outcomes. This research introduces a lightweight, real-time Assisted Mobile Diagnostic (AMD) platform for DR screening that embeds a refined deep learning model directly onto a mobile device. Unlike traditional AI solutions that rely on powerful servers and fixed fundus imaging equipment, the proposed setup pairs a non-mydriatic retinal camera with a smartphone, enabling on-site evaluations. Retinal photographs undergo initial processing steps, including smoothing and contrast adjustment, before classification by a fine-tuned DenseNet-121 network. Model training leveraged a combination of an internal hospital dataset and two prominent public repositories: APTOS (Asia Pacific Tele-Ophthalmology Society) and EyePACS (Eye Picture Archive Communication System). The method performed strongly, achieving 97.38% accuracy on APTOS, 90.90% on EyePACS, and 98.61% on the private dataset. On mobile hardware, the system processes images in an average of 162.5 ms, enabling efficient point-of-care screening. This deep learning-powered mobile tool forms a core component of a broader tele-ophthalmology ecosystem encompassing tablet and desktop versions, promoting widespread and remote access to DR diagnosis. %U https://smerpub.com/article/early-detection-of-diabetic-retinopathy-using-a-mobile-based-deep-learning-framework-agi1lvdfpm1ucpu