AI being used to detect and analyse optical diseases

DeepMind Health and Moorfields Eye Hospital have collaborated to use artificial intelligence to detect and analyse a range of optical diseases. The AI can identify ten disease features from highly complex optical coherence tomography scans, and make a referral recommendation with reasons for the decision and the percentage of confidence. Results are checked against recommendations of clinical professionals, and in trials the AI system was 94% accurate in its referral decision recommendations for more than 50 eye diseases, the same as the top medical experts in the field.
Dr Pearse Keane, consultant ophthalmologist at Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and National Institute for Health Research clinician scientist at the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, said: “The number of eye scans we’re performing is growing at a pace much faster than human experts are able to interpret them. There is a risk that this may cause delays in the diagnosis and treatment of sight-threatening diseases, which can be devastating for patients. The AI technology we’re developing is designed to prioritise patients who need to be seen and treated urgently by a doctor or eye care professional. If we can diagnose and treat eye conditions early, it gives us the best chance of saving people’s sight. With further research it could lead to greater consistency and quality of care for patients with eye problems in the future.”
Mustafa Suleyman, co-founder and head of Applied AI at DeepMind Health, said: “We set up DeepMind Health because we believe artificial intelligence can help solve some of society’s biggest health challenges, like avoidable sight loss, which affects millions of people across the globe. These incredibly exciting results take us one step closer to that goal and could, in time, transform the diagnosis, treatment and management of patients with sight-threatening eye conditions, not just at Moorfields, but around the world.”