A collaborative EU project, I-Screen, has used AI technology, compatible with optical coherence tomography (OCT) scanners, to identify and monitor age-related macular degeneration (AMD) at its earliest stages.
The project, involving 12 partnering institutions, including Queen’s University Belfast, would receive €4.7m from the European Innovation Council’s (EIC) Pathfinder programme over the next four years, as part of the EU’s Horizon Europe Framework Programme for Research and Innovation.
The consortium, including clinical retina experts, computer scientists and community-based optometrists, would work together to develop accessible AI-powered diagnostic tools for OCT image analysis in a clinical setting.
The project was dedicated to empowering non-clinical eye care professionals through AI and cloud-based technology to improve early detection rates and facilitate timely treatment.
I Screen coordinator, professor Ursula Schmidt-Erfurth from Medizinische Universität Wien, said: ‘In AMD, as a population-wide burden, early detection resulting in timely treatment and a wide access to care is paramount.
'It is our responsibility in healthcare to bundle forces in respect to human expertise and technology to provide life-long vision for the entire society.’