Eye scans could detect risk of heart disease

Researchers at Kingston University established that eye scans could be used to predict whether a person was at high risk of heart disease by using artificial intelligence.

Algorithms were developed to measure features on the retinal image, such as the width of blood vessels and how curved they were.

This was used to specify the risk of cardiovascular disease and stroke and could act as an alternative predictive biomarker to traditional risk scores for vascular health.

Sarah Barman, professor of computer vision at the university’s school of computer science and mathematics, said standard methods required a blood test from a GP.