AI eye test for heart disease
A new study suggests that a simple eye scan could help predict a person’s risk of having a heart attack or stroke over the next 10 years.
The scan takes a picture of the back of the eye a test that is already used to check for different eye diseases. Researchers believe it may also reveal important signs about heart health.
Scientists used artificial intelligence (AI) to study thousands of digital eye images.
The AI system can examine a scan in less than a second and estimate a person’s future risk of serious heart problems.
Researchers hope this quick test could one day become part of regular health checkups along with blood pressure and cholesterol tests.
This may help doctors identify high risk patients earlier and start treatment before serious problems develop.
The study focused on eye scans from people with type 2 diabetes because they already receive regular eye exams to detect conditions such as diabetic retinopathy.
Lead researcher Dr. Efi Mordi said the eyes can provide valuable information about the heart.
If the tiny blood vessels at the back of the eye become narrow or damaged similar changes may also be happening in the blood vessels that supply the heart.
At first the AI was trained to look for signs of narrowed or blocked blood vessels.
Later it also learned to recognize other small details such as the pattern and size of blood vessels.
The system was trained using 4,200 eye images.
The results were encouraging. The AI correctly predicted the risk of a heart attack or stroke within the next 10 years with about 70% accuracy.
Dr. Mordi said the eye scan takes less than a minute and is already part of routine eye examinations. If widely used it could help save lives by identifying people who need early treatment.
Professor Bryan Williams of the British Heart Foundation called the technology an important step forward but said more research is needed before it becomes a standard medical tool.
Dr. Clare Jonas from the Stroke Association also welcomed the findings.
She said that if governments include technologies like this in healthcare planning they could help prevent many cases of stroke in the future.
Experts believe this research is an important development and could lead to AI powered eye scans becoming a routine part of future medical checkups.