Researchers from Iraq and Australia claim to have created an artificial intelligence (AI) computer algorithm that is capable of analysing tongue colour to diagnose medical conditions in real-time, and has an accuracy of 98%.
According to the study conducted by Ali Al-Naji from the universities of Baghdad and Australia, the tongues of people suffering from diabetes are usually yellow, while the tongues of cancer patients are often purple with a thick coating. People suffering from acute strokes have a strangely red tongue.
Al-Naji explained that certain colours on the tongue can indicate a variety of health problems. He said the imaging system was inspired by the traditional Chinese practice of analysing the tongue to detect diseases.
“A white tongue can be a sign of anemia; people with severe cases of COVID-19 may have a dark red tongue. A blue or purple tongue indicates vascular and gastrointestinal problems or asthma,” Al-Naji was quoted as saying by the New York Post.
The researchers used over 5,200 images to train an AI model to recognise tongue colour and associated health conditions. The model was tested using 60 tongue images taken from two hospitals in the Middle East.
During the test, patients were positioned about 8 inches away from a laptop’s webcam, which photographed their tongues. The program successfully identified the disease in almost all cases.
Professor Javan Chahal from the University of South Australia suggested that this technology could soon be integrated into smartphone apps, helping in diagnosing various health problems like diabetes, stroke, anaemia, asthma and other conditions, the publication said.
He highlighted that computerised tongue analysis, combining modern technology with traditional methods, provides a reliable, easy-to-use, cost-effective approach to disease detection.
hair on the tongue
According to WebMD, if someone notices a black, brown or white hairy coating on their tongue, they may be dealing with a condition called “hairy” tongue. In this condition, proteins cause tiny bumps on the tongue to elongate, trapping food and bacteria.
Brushing or scraping the tongue usually resolves this problem. However, if there are white spots on the tongue that do not come off with scraping, this may be a sign of oral hairy leukoplakia, which may be associated with a viral infection such as Epstein-Barr or HIV.
