​ADVANCEMENTS IN ARTIFICIAL INTELIGENCE IN OPTOMETRY

After IDx received the first FDA approval for their Artificial Intelligence (AI) enabled software programme in 2018, AI in optometry is becoming common place. Heru have announced that the visual field results from its innovative vision diagnostics and augmentation leader are very similar to those of ZEISS Humphrey Field Analyser (HFA), following a study of 47 eyes – 21 healthy and 26 with glaucoma and neuro-ophthalmic diseases. Mohamed Abou Shousha, MD and CEO of Heru has suggested that “eye care professionals can trust the results”.

In 2019 I wrote an article on future-proofing ophthalmology. One of the break-through stories I wrote about was the OCT scans of the back of the eye used by Moorfield’s Eye Hospital, working with Google’s DeepMind project. The OTC scans are currently being used to detect geographic atrophy (GA) using a common eye scan. GA impacts more than 5 million people worldwide; it is difficult to detect in the early stages and there’s currently no effective treatment, however it is hoped Moorfield’s algorithm developments with change this.
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I commented on how ‘AI is merely giving physicians more tools to better cope with the problems that accompany a rapidly aging and expanding population’, a statement which is still true today, proven by the advancements of both Hulu and HFA.

Ref: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210922005339/en/Study-Shows-Heru%E2%80%99s-Automated-Visual-Field-Testing-Platform-Delivers-Strong-Correlation-to-Humphrey-Field-Analyzer https://www.aop.org.uk/ot/science-and-vision/technology/2019/06/28/beautiful-mind https://www.digitalhealth.net/2021/09/moorfields-develops-in-house-algorithm-to-help-detect-geographic-atrophy/