AI may estimate best corrected visual acuity from fundus photographs in eyes with diabetic macular edema

Key Takeaways

• Artificial intelligence (AI) may be able to use photos of the interior, back surface of the eye to estimate best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) in patients with diabetic macular edema (DME).
• The findings open up possibilities of using AI in the clinic or with home monitoring to obtain BCVA efficiently and economically.

AI may be able to estimate the best vision an eye can achieve with corrective lenses (BCVA) of patients with DME based on photos of the fundus (the interior, back surface of the eye), according to a study. “This investigation found that AI can estimate BCVA directly from color fundus photographs of patients with DME, often within 1 to 2 lines on an ETDRS chart,” the study authors wrote. (The ETDRS (Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study) chart is often used to measure BCVA). 

“These findings open up possibilities of using AI in the clinic or with home monitoring to obtain BCVA efficiently and economically, decreasing the time and expense related to the trained personnel involved in managing DME around the world,” the authors conclude.

Edited by Miriam Kaplan, PhD

Source: Anthony DeFino, Healio Ocular Surgery News, July 14, 2023; see source article