Doctors have used artificial intelligence (AI) to help predict which people with a serious eye disease need fast treatment to protect their eyesight. The research was shared at a major eye conference in Europe.
The condition is called keratoconus. It affects the cornea, the clear front part of the eye. In keratoconus, the cornea becomes thin and bulges outward, making vision blurry. It usually starts in teenagers and young adults and can get worse over time. About 1 in 350 people may have this condition.
For some people, contact lenses can help. But for others, the disease gets worse quickly. If they don’t get treatment, they may need a cornea transplant to see clearly again. Until now, doctors couldn’t tell early on which patients would get worse and which ones would stay stable.
Researchers at Moorfields Eye Hospital and University College London used AI to study eye scans and patient information. They trained the AI to spot early signs that keratoconus might get worse.
They looked at more than 36,000 eye scans from over 6,600 patients. The AI learned to predict, from just the first scan, which patients were likely to need treatment soon and which ones could just be monitored.
The AI sorted about two-thirds of the patients into a low-risk group and one-third into a high-risk group. The high-risk patients were likely to need a treatment called cross-linking. This treatment uses ultraviolet light and vitamin B2 (riboflavin) drops to strengthen the cornea. It is successful in more than 95% of cases if done early.
If the AI had access to a second hospital visit, it became even more accurate. It was able to correctly sort up to 90% of patients into high- and low-risk groups.
This means doctors could soon use AI to give the right care to the right patients faster. High-risk patients could get early treatment to protect their sight, and low-risk patients would avoid unnecessary visits and tests.
The research team is now testing the AI system for safety. They are also working on an even more powerful system that could help detect other eye problems too, like infections and inherited diseases.
Experts say this AI tool could make a big difference. By catching keratoconus early and treating it before damage happens, many people may be able to avoid serious vision loss and surgery.
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