New AI tool can accurately diagnose eye conditions, could help detect Parkinson’s
…
A 2023 review in the Journal of Clinical Medicine refers to the retina as “a window to the body”. The study of oculomics uses deep learning to explore correlations between retinal image characteristics and diseases.
The current study’s authors believe that RETFound may help improve diagnosis of sight-threatening eye diseases, such as diabetic retinopathy and glaucoma.
The program could also predict systemic disorders including heart failure, stroke, and Parkinson’s disease.
Moreover, this AI technology facilitates a non-invasive view of the nervous system.
… [end quote]
“The eyes are the windows to the soul.” It seems that the eyes are windows to the body as well.
RETFound, one of healthcare’s first AI foundation models and ophthalmology’s first, used millions of eye scans to help detect and treat blindness. In multiple tests, RETFound surpassed existing AI systems and clinical experts in completing a range of complex diagnostic functions with less labelled data.
The authors are making RETFound publicly available. This is super-cool because it will enable inventors to incorporate it into eye exam machines which can eventually be bought by medical practitioners.
This technology isn’t ready for prime time yet. But it’s non-invasive and could eventually become a routine part of eye exams.
Wendy
