CONVERSATIONS IN RETINA: A Conversation With Michael Abramoff, MD, PhD

To call Dr. Michael Abramoff a “Renaissance Man” would probably be an understatement. The Netherlands-born University of Iowa ophthalmology professor has earned a PhD in computer science, been instrumental in the creation of 3 retinal imaging companies, been a successful playwright, and served as an interviewer of Holocaust survivors for Steven Spielberg’s Visual History of the Shoah project. However, his greatest achievement may have occurred just recently when his decades of groundbreaking work in artificial intelligence culminated in the FDA approval of LumineticsCore™ (formerly known as IDx-DR), which uses artificial intelligence for the highly accurate diagnosis of diabetic retinopathy. The LumineticsCore (formerly known as IDx-DR) is the first autonomous diagnostic system whose findings do not have to be validated by a physician. Retinal Physician caught up with the very busy Dr. Abramoff for a compelling question-and-answer session.