Data Augmentation with Generative Methods for Inherited Retinal Diseases: A Systematic Review

Inherited retinal diseases (IRDs) are rare and genetically diverse disorders that cause progressive vision loss and affect 1 in 3000 individuals worldwide. Their rarity and genetic variability pose a challenge for deep learning models due to the limited amount of data. Generative models offer a promising solution by creating synthetic data to improve training datasets. This study carried out a systematic literature review to investigate the use of generative models to augment data in IRDs and assess their impact on the performance of classifiers for these diseases. Following PRISMA 2020 guidelines, searches in four databases identified 32 relevant studies, 2 focused on IRD and the rest on other retinal diseases. The results indicate that generative models effectively augment small datasets. Among the techniques identified, Deep Convolutional Adversarial Generative Networks (DCGAN) and the Style-Based Generator Architecture of Generative Adversarial Networks 2 (StyleGAN2) were the most widely used. These architectures generated highly realistic and diverse synthetic data, often indistinguishable from real data, even for experts. The results highlight the need for more research into data generation in IRD to develop robust diagnostic tools and improve genetic studies by creating more comprehensive genetic repositories.