AI-powered retinal camera helps detect eye issues earlier
If you’ve been diagnosed with diabetes, one of the issues doctors want to keep on top of is your eye health and whether the disease is affecting blood vessels in your eyes. One area health-care provider is helping patients get the testing they need by doing that eye test in primary care doctors’ offices.
WVU Medicine Uniontown Hospital has introduced an artificial intelligence-powered (AI) retinal camera for early detection of diabetic eye disease and made it available in primary care offices for diabetic eye screenings. The non-invasive, FDA-approved exam uses a retinal camera to detect early signs of diabetic eye disease, offering patients more convenient access to this critical screening.
Nearly 1 in 7 adults in Fayette County have diabetes, which is a significantly higher rate than both state and national averages. Doctors say improving access to early screening is essential for reducing the long-term complications of diabetes, including vision loss.
The LumineticsCore Retinal Camera uses AI to diagnose diabetic retinopathy by scanning images taken of the back of the eye.
“These images are analyzed for any changes in the blood vessels on the back of the eye that would indicate diabetic retinopathy,” said Dr. Paul Means, medical director for ambulatory care with WVUHS Medical Group and Uniontown Hospital. “The results are reported in just a few minutes and discussed with the patient during the visit. If there are no signs of diabetic retinopathy, the patient is recommended to have the exam repeated in one year.”
If results do indicate signs of diabetic retinopathy, doctors refer the patient to an eye care professional for further evaluation and treatment, if necessary. Means adds this is a very simplified explanation for a very complicated disease.
“Diabetes can cause diabetic retinopathy, which can come in two forms,” he explained. “Non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy is where the walls of the blood vessels become weak and can leak fluid or blood into the retina (back of the eye) ,which can lead to damage and vision loss.”
The second form is called proliferative diabetic retinopathy, in which damaged blood vessels are blocked off and will cause growth of new and abnormal blood vessels on the retina that can leak and cause scarring and damage. Both conditions can lead to vision loss.
Medical guidelines recommend annual diabetic retinal exams for all patients with type 1 or type 2 diabetes, yet only about half receive this vital screening. Incorporating AI to advance test results and bringing this screening into a primary care health setting is one step toward removing traditional barriers that often prevent patients from getting this test.
“The reasons that people do not get tested regularly are probably variable, but in our area, transportation would be a major consideration,” Means said. “This would be another visit to a different office, and some people depend on public transportation or a neighbor for transportation. Also, cost may deter some, with most likely an additional insurance cost or copay for a separate eye care visit. The disease is relatively asymptomatic in its early stages, so some people may not feel any urgency to have this done, and this can be an issue.”
Getting the test is the important first step to treatment of diabetic retinopathy which, if caught early and in a mild stage, can be treated by first improving control of the patient’s diabetes.
In more advanced cases, the goal is to slow or stop the progression of the retinopathy and to hopefully avoid further vision loss. Treatment can include injections, laser treatment and surgery if necessary.
“The main focus is to get the patients to screen early, detect any disease as early as possible and start interventions as needed to help prevent future vision loss,” Means said. “By having the ability to do the testing in the primary care office, we are eliminating several barriers and making the process as simple as possible for the patient.”