At our latest coffee hour we were joined by Dr Paul Nderitu, Ophthalmologist at Moorfields Eye Hospital and Postdoctoral Clinical Researcher at UCL, who shared his work on using artificial intelligence (AI) to improve the early detection of diabetic eye disease.
The increase of diabetes worldwide comes with a rise in diabetic eye disease, a condition that can cause sight loss but is often symptomless until it is advanced. In England, the current screening system is under huge pressure with around 12 million eye images captured for analysis by trained professionals each year.
Dr Nderitu explained how AI systems could help meet this growing demand by analysing large numbers of images quickly and accurately. This would help to identify people with early or sight-threatening diabetic eye disease sooner.
His research goes beyond detecting disease that is present today. Dr Nderitu is working on AI tools that can predict future risk of diabetic eye disease by using a single eye image alongside basic patient information. This could help personalise follow-up appointments and free up NHS capacity for those most in need.
The session ended with a lively discussion around how AI can support rather than replace clinical expertise. Dr Nderitu emphasised that AI should act as an additional safeguard, helping improve efficiency across systems.
Thank you to everyone who joined us and to Dr Nderitu for such an engaging session!
The next Coffee Hour will be on Wednesday 4th of February from 3-4 pm at Coffee Junction near to Moorfields Eye Hospital with researcher Prof Alice Davidson. The session will focus on cornea research – more details coming soon!