Diabetic retinopathy is among the top five causes of vision impairment globally. In Ukraine alone almost half of the patients diagnosed with diabetes are unaware of their condition and the risk of development of associated complications.
“Stress is one of the leading causes for diabetes. Unfortunately, the diabetes statistics in Ukraine are disappointing, and as a result of the Russian war in Ukraine, they are going to get worse. Accordingly, it is essential to promote accessibility of eye screening for various conditions. Early detection of diabetic retinopathy will help to prevent the development of the disease, and therefore reduce the risk of vision impairment or loss,” – says Natalia Pasechnikova, Director of the Institute of Eye Diseases and Tissue Therapy. V. P. Filatova, NAMN of Ukraine.
Diabetic retinopathy is a treatable disease at the early stages of its development. Therefore, the team behind CheckEye has focused on the development of a cloud-based solution that will increase screening accuracy, as well as reduce the workload for medical personnel.
In Ukraine, the accessibility of specialist doctors and screening varies depending on the regionand. The solution from CheckEye, which is being developed in close cooperation with the “Institute of Eye Diseases and Tissue Therapy. V. P. Filatova, NAMN of Ukraine”, enables a high-accuracy mobile screening service engaging limited resources via AI.
AI’s algorithm analyses a photo of a patient’s eye fundus, searching for symptoms of the disease development. The system then swiftly sends the results to a specialist doctor who can decide if treatment is required.
To ensure high-accuracy screening, we develop and integrate a database with detailed information about the course of the disease into the cloud-based solution. Our colleagues from the Institute of Eye Diseases and Tissue Therapy. V.P. Filatov NAMN Ukraine are helping us with this work. Experienced ophthalmologists share eye fundus images of the patients diagnosed with diabetic retinopathy at different stages of the disease. AI uses such materials to conduct a comparative analysis and then sends the results to a specialist doctor.
Such technology enables specialist doctors to shift focus directly to disease treatment, which may help to reduce prevalence statistics.
The team behind CheckEye are grateful to the Institute of Eye Diseases and Tissue Therapy V. P. Filatova NAMN of Ukraine for the support and believe that this partnership will play an important role in preserving the health of the Ukrainian nation.