The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) is the largest vision research organization in the world. Formed in 1928, the Association boasts more than 10,000 members in 75 countries who are dedicated to advancing worldwide research pertaining to the visual system and vision-related disorders.
Each year, ARVO hosts their annual meeting, which is held over the course of several days. The event brings together thousands of vision researchers, clinicians, and scientists from around the globe for scientific sessions, poster presentations, and invited speaker sessions.
Among the compelling studies and key pieces of research presented at the 2023 ARVO annual meeting, were two posters and an abstract, which demonstrated the proven ability of AI technology, such as LumineticsCore™ (formerly IDx-DR) created by Digital Diagnostics, to autonomously diagnose diabetic retinopathy. They also highlighted the benefits of implementing such technology into point-of-care settings like primary care clinics.
According to one of the posters, which was presented by Jane Huang, BS, a second-year medical student at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, “The implementation of autonomous artificial intelligence eye exams was associated with a higher adherence to annual diabetic eye disease testing.”
Similarly, the Stanford abstract presented at ARVO 2023, which was authored by a group of researchers from Stanford Medicine and based on data obtained from several primary care clinics that utilize LumineticsCore, also showed a link between higher adherence to annual eye exams for people with diabetes and AI-based diagnostic systems.
According to the abstract presented by Stanford Medicine, “30.3% of those referred after an AI-based exam followed up at the university eye institute compared with 11.5% of people referred for follow up after teleophthalmology screening.”
Another poster, which was presented at ARVO 2023 by Ariel Leong, MS, a second-year medical student at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, showed that AI-based diagnostic systems have the potential to increase health equity. “Incorporating artificial intelligence into diabetic eye disease testing may increase health equity by giving more patients who are at risk for poor visual outcomes access to screening,” according to the poster.
The Stanford abstract also showed an association between the implementation of autonomous AI technology for diagnosing diabetic retinopathy and increased access to care.
“The percentage of patients that received an annual eye exam increased from 65.2% to 72.8% in the clinics utilizing IDx-DR [now LumineticsCore], exceeding the 90th percentile national benchmark (67.89%) for the Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS) quality measure,” according to the abstract.
Further information about the posters presented at ARVO is available online, as the posters are the subjects of the articles, Autonomous AI Exams Linked with Higher Adherence to Annual Diabetic Eye Disease Testing and AI Referral May Increase Health Equity in Diabetic Eye Disease. The abstract presented at ARVO, which is titled Real World Outcomes from Artificial Intelligence to Detect Diabetic Retinopathy in the Primary Care Setting: 12 Month Experience, is also available online, in the ARVO Journal, Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science (IOVS).