= number of images.

**Table 2.** Class-Wide Image Distribution*.* 

Selecting a dataset with a sufficient number of high-quality photos is crucial. This study made use of the APTOS 2019 (Asia Pacific Tele-Ophthalmology Society) Blindness Detection Dataset [16], a publicly available Kaggle dataset that incorporates a huge number of photos. In this collection, high-resolution retinal pictures are provided for the five stages of DR, classified from 0 (none) to 4 (proliferate DR), with labels 1–4 corresponding to the four levels of severity. There are 3662 retinal pictures in total; 1805 are from the "no DR" group, 370 are from the "mild DR" group, 999 are from the "moderate DR" group, 193 are from the "severe DR" group, and 295 are from the "proliferate DR" group, as illustrated in Table 2. Images are 3216 × 2136 pixels in size, and Figure 1 shows some examples of these kind of pictures. There is background noise in the Selecting a dataset with a sufficient number of high-quality photos is crucial. This study made use of the APTOS 2019 (Asia Pacific Tele-Ophthalmology Society) Blindness Detection Dataset [16], a publicly available Kaggle dataset that incorporates a huge number of photos. In this collection, high-resolution retinal pictures are provided for the five stages of DR, classified from 0 (none) to 4 (proliferate DR), with labels 1–4 corresponding to the four levels of severity. There are 3662 retinal pictures in total; 1805 are from the "no DR" group, 370 are from the "mild DR" group, 999 are from the "moderate DR" group, 193 are from the "severe DR" group, and 295 are from the "proliferate DR" group, as illustrated in Table 2. Images are 3216 × 2136 pixels in size, and Figure 1 shows some examples of these kind of pictures. There is background noise in the photographs and the labels, much

photographs and the labels, much like any real-world data set. It is possible that the provided images will be flawed in some way, be it with artifacts, blurriness, improper

**Class Index DR Level # Images**  0 No DR 1805 1 Mild DR 370 2 Moderate DR 999 3 Severe DR 193 4 Proliferate DR 295

like any real-world data set. It is possible that the provided images will be flawed in some way, be it with artifacts, blurriness, improper exposure, or some other issue. The photos were collected over a long period of time from a number of different clinics using different cameras, all of which contribute to the overall high degree of diversity.


