Algorithm identifies rare genetic disorders from family pics (Wired)

Oxford University researchers have developed a computer program that can diagnose rare genetic disorders in children simply by analysing regular photographs.

The program works by recognising certain characteristic facial structures that can be present with certain conditions, including Down's syndrome, Teacher Collins, Progeria, Fragile X and Angelman syndrome. It combines computer vision and machine learning to scan pictures for similarities to a database of pictures of people with known conditions, and then returns matches ranked by likelihood.

Read the paper in full, or the coverage from Wired.