Sponsored Research Project
CardioVision
Fusion of ECG & Retinal Biomarkers for Proactive Heart Health Screening
CardioVision
₹19 Lakh · 3 Years · La Fondation Dassault Systèmes
The Announcement
A research team from TIET has been awarded an industry-funded research grant of ₹19 Lakhs by the Dassault Systèmes Foundation for the project ‘CardioVision — Fusion of ECG and Retinal Biomarkers for Proactive Heart Health Screening.’ The project is led by Dr. Vinay Arora, Associate Professor, Department of Computer Science & Engineering, as Principal Investigator, along with Prof. Maninder Singh and Dr. Daljeet Singh as Co-Principal Investigators. CardioVision aims to enable proactive, non-invasive cardiovascular screening by integrating ECG signals and retinal biomarkers using AI-driven multimodal data fusion — with significant potential for early detection of heart conditions and improved access to quality cardiac care, especially in resource-constrained settings.
Main Goals
- Build an AI/ML model fusing ECG signals, physiological readings (BP, glucose), and retinal fundus images for enhanced CVD detection.
- Extract and correlate cardiovascular biomarkers from ECG (HRV, QT interval) and retina (vessel tortuosity, AV ratio).
- Benchmark the fused model against traditional single-modality diagnostics.
- Deliver a cost-effective, non-invasive screening tool for primary care and remote clinics.
Project Description
CardioVision fuses ECG and retinal fundus imaging into one AI diagnostic framework, capturing complementary electrical and vascular biomarkers of heart health. Deep learning models trained on clinical and public datasets will target conditions like hypertension and arrhythmia, with a strong emphasis on interpretability for clinical trust. The goal: a more comprehensive, scalable, non-invasive screening alternative to single-modality tools.
How the retina reveals the heart: AI-detected vascular biomarkers (tortuosity, AV nicking, microaneurysms) are fused with ECG signal features to flag cardiovascular risk non-invasively.
Investigator Profiles
Dr. Vinay Arora has been Associate Professor in the Computer Science & Engineering Department at TIET since 2009. He completed his MTech at Kurukshetra University in 2007 and subsequently joined Newgen Software Technologies, New Delhi, where he worked with ECOBANK Ghana, West Africa. His PhD research focused on Model-Based Software Engineering, specifically exploring the full potential of UML diagrams through a repository of UML activity diagrams. Post-PhD, he pivoted to the application of machine/deep learning techniques in biomedical signal processing and computational biology. He actively collaborates with the Environment & Energy and Civil Engineering departments to implement ML/DL models in their domains. In 2014, he built an online automation system for the CSE department’s project-semester evaluations, in use since then. His portfolio includes 20 SCIE-indexed papers, 20 conference papers, and 1 research project. He has supervised 20 ME theses and successfully mentored 1 completed PhD, and is currently guiding 6 PhD students. In 2023, Dr. Arora founded Vue360Infra Pvt. Ltd., incubated at TIET with ₹4 lakh MeitY (Government of India) funding, and built TIET’s 360° virtual campus tour (tiet360.in).
Dr. Maninder Singh is a seasoned academician and researcher with over 25 years of experience in computer science and engineering. He holds a PhD in Computer Science specializing in Network Security, an ME in Software Engineering from TIET, and a BE in Computer Engineering from Pune University. Since joining TIET in 1996, he has held various academic and administrative positions and currently serves as Professor. His research interests encompass Network Security, Cyber-Physical Systems, Internet of Things (IoT), and Parallel & Distributed Computing. He has authored over 60 research publications in reputed journals and conferences, and has supervised numerous PhD and Master’s theses. His contributions include funded collaborations with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), and other corporate entities.
Dr. Daljeet Singh is Associate Professor in the Mechanical Engineering Department at TIET, specializing in CAD/CAM Engineering. His research areas include Additive Manufacturing, Acoustic Metamaterials, and Machine Learning/AI. He completed a Post-Doctoral Research Fellowship (February 2019 – January 2020) at Trinity College, The University of Dublin, Ireland, where he worked on smart metamaterials via 3D printing technologies. He has guided 22 ME theses and is currently guiding 2 PhD students. Dr. Singh has received a prior sponsored project from La Fondation Dassault Systèmes in the area of 3D Printing, is the author of 2 book chapters, and serves as a reviewer for several SCI journals.
Medical Collaborators
Dr. Sahil Thakur — MBBS, MS, PhD, Ophthalmologist
Head of Medical Affairs, Mediwhale Inc. (South Korea); Adjunct Research Fellow, Singapore Eye Research Institute / Singapore National Eye Centre
Dr. Manojkumar Ukadbhai Rohit — MBBS, MD, DM, Cardiologist
Professor, Department of Cardiology, Advanced Cardiac Centre, PGIMER Chandigarh
Research Team
Dr. Sheetal Sethi — Junior Research Fellow (JRF)
Aarush Aggarwal — MTS
Akshat — Research Intern
Seeing the heart through the eye.