A research team led by the University of Edinburgh is using artificial intelligence (AI) to develop a software tool for use by optometrists to detect dementia risk from a routine eye test.
The NeurEYE research team’s project, which is funded by NEURii, a global collaboration between entities including pharmaceutical company Eisai, Gates Ventures, and the University of Edinburgh, has collected almost a million eye scans from opticians across Scotland to train the tool.
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The team is applying AI and machine learning to analyse data from the scans, which are linked to relevant patient data on demographics, treatment history and pre-existing conditions. The anonymised data allows the researchers to find patterns they assert may indicate a person’s risk of developing dementia.
Permission to use the data comes from the National Health Service (NHS) Scotland’s Public Benefit and Privacy Panel for Health and Social Care.
Professor of Computational Medicine at the Usher Institute and NeurEYE co-lead, Miguel Bernabeu commented: “Recent advances in AI promise to revolutionise medical image interpretation and disease prediction.
“However, in order to develop algorithms that are equitable and unbiased, we need to train them on datasets that are representative of the whole population at risk. This dataset, along with decades-long research at University of Edinburgh into ethical AI, can bring a step change in early detection of dementia for all.”
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By GlobalDataNeurEYE subsequently plans to develop the AI software into a predictive diagnostic tool for use by optometrists to assess the risk a patient may be at for conditions such as Alzheimer’s. The researchers also envisage the tool being used by optometrists to triage and refer patients to secondary health services if signs of brain disease are spotted.
The team’s overall hope is that identifying people at risk of dementia may help to accelerate the development of new treatments by identifying those who are more likely to benefit from trials.
Professor of Clinical Ophthalmology at the University of Edinburgh and NeurEYE co-lead, Baljean Dhillon commented: “The eye can tell us far more than we thought possible. The blood vessels and neural pathways of retina and brain are intimately related.
“But, unlike the brain, we can see the retina with the simple, inexpensive equipment found in every high street in the UK and beyond.”
A report by GlobalData forecasts that the total case prevalence of Alzheimer’s, the most common form of dementia, will reach 22.51 million in the eight major markets by 2033.
