Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is one of the leading causes of
preventable blindness globally. Yet, many diabetic patients still do not
schedule regular diabetic eye exams as requested by their physicians. Referral
to an eye doctor for early diagnosis and treatment is the key to preventing
vision loss in diabetics. Performing retinal screening examinations on all
diabetic patients is an unmet need, and leads to many undiagnosed and untreated
cases of DR. Recently researcher-clinicians
reported their work
to develop an artificial intelligence automated algorithm for retinal
photographs that would help with referral from primary care physicians to
ophthalmologists of eyes with DR for further evaluation and treatment. The
study suggests that this method of screening would aid in reducing the rate of
vision loss, enabling timely and accurate diagnoses.