Google AI could predict eye condition behind vision loss

AMD is the third largest cause of blindness in the world after cataract and glaucoma.

Wet AMD can lead to vision loss. (REUTERS)

Google has developed an artificial intelligence (AI)-based system that performed as well as, and in some cases, even better clinicians in predicting the progression of an eye condition called wet Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) that can lead to vision loss.

To give you some context, AMD is an eye disease that causes vision loss. It is the third largest cause of blindness in the world after cataract and glaucoma. Around 75% of patients with AMD have an early form of the disease called ‘Dry AMD' that has relatively mild impact on vision.

A small fraction of patients, however, develop the more sight-threatening form of the disease called ‘Wet AMD' wherein abnormal blood vessels develop underneath the retina. These vessels can leak fluids, which can cause permanent vision loss. This condition affects around 15% of patients.

Wet AMD affects one eye first which makes the patients heavily reliant on the other eye for their day-to-day functioning. However, research shows that 20% of the patients who develop Wet AMD in one eye go on to develop the eye condition in the second eye as well.

Now, Google in collaboration with its DeepMind subsidiary and Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust have developed an AI model that has the potential to predict whether a patient will develop wet AMD within six months.

“In the future, this system could potentially help doctors plan studies of earlier intervention, as well as contribute more broadly to clinical understanding of the disease and disease progression,” Google wrote in a blog post.