AI's Role in Combating Increasing Blindness Rates

Ophthalmology is the busiest medical specialty in the UK's National Health Service, with nearly 10 million appointments per year. The main cause of blindness between the ages of 18 and 65 is diabetic eye disease, but an increasing prevalence of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is also contributing to the problem. New eye scanners called optical coherence tomography (OCT) devices are being deployed in optometry practices, but community optometrists don't always have the expertise to analyze OCT scans. AI can help by analyzing OCT scans and assessing them for more than 50 retinal diseases, with a level of performance on par with expert ophthalmologists. Once clinically validated, the AI system can be deployed at scale in the community to reduce the burden of chronic diseases like AMD.