- AI-Equipped Eye Scans to Detect Diabetes Complication
- Researchers Modify Optometry Equipment to Predict Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy
- AI Component to Detect Nerve Damage and Predict Future Complications
By scanning a patient’s eyes, artificial intelligence could detect a significant complication of diabetes.
To detect diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN), researchers from the University of Liverpool and Manchester Metropolitan University are modifying the equipment presently employed by optometrists.
It will detect nerves in the front of the eye, not the back, and its AI component will predict damage.
Dr. Uazman Alam of the University of Liverpool’s Institute of Life Course and Medical Sciences stated, “We know from a body of work in which I’ve been heavily involved over the past 15 to 20 years that the nerves at the front of the eye reflect nerve damage elsewhere in the body.”
DPN is a significant diabetes complication and the leading cause of amputations in diabetic patients.
High blood sugar damages neurons that send brain and spinal cord messages, causing diabetes.
Optometrists use optical coherence tomography (OCT) devices to scan the rear of the eye.
The 10-gramme monofilament test is presently used to detect sensory loss in the limbs of diabetic patients.
However, according to the researchers, the current ‘crude’ screening, which measures the nerves in a person’s foot, misses a significant number of individuals with the condition.
Dr. Alam stated, “[Patients] are currently screened, but the tests we use are insensitive.” We expect this to be significantly more sensitive.
Instead of measuring nerves, we may utilise the full image to detect nerve damage and forecast who will develop it.
In June, a study suggested that more than one billion individuals worldwide could have diabetes within the next few decades.
The Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology journal published a paper predicting that by 2050, approximately 1.3 billion people will have diabetes – more than double the 529 million cases in 2021.
It is anticipated that the study will conclude in 2027 and result in a pilot clinical validation trial at Aintree University Hospital in Liverpool involving healthy and diabetic volunteers.
Dr. Alam predicts that AI will become an integral part of all healthcare systems at some point. But that it will require further development before being extensively adopted.
“I think it’s important to keep in mind that AI is not limited to images, but can also include data,” he said.
It has arrived to remain. It must be developed ethically.
I think medical schools should teach it because of its importance. It will become ingrained in the healthcare infrastructure.’
