New technology will detect heart disease using an eye test

In recent years, artificial intelligence burst into our lives by storm, and since then it seems that it is taking over almost every field, including the world of medicine. A new study presented today (Thursday) at the eye conference of the Beilinson Hospital of the Klalit Group, included an innovative development that combines artificial intelligence with advanced imaging equipment, and with which the researchers aim to predict cardiovascular diseases in a few years from a routine eye examination.The research, which is still ongoing, was conducted by Prof. Alon Harris, Research Professor of Ophthalmology, and Co-Director of Artificial Intelligence and Human Health, Deputy Director of the Ophthalmology Department at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York and Visiting Professor at the Ophthalmology Department at Billinson Hospital; In collaboration with researchers from the University of Maine in the USA, led by Prof. Giovanna Godbani.

 

First, the researchers used a Doppler test in the eye, in order to monitor the disruptions and changes in the blood flow to the area. “The technology that makes it possible to monitor the blood flow in the eye has existed for many years, but this time we also combined mathematical models and artificial intelligence with the test findings, and thus in fact we developed an innovative system that can predict the activity of the heart and blood vessels,” explains Prof. Harris.

So far, the technology has been successfully tested on pigs, and now the researchers are expected to test the development on humans as well, in order to advance to the next stage where they will be able to use it to detect cardiovascular diseases in an actual way. Prof. Harris explains that in order to do this, they will compare the results of the echocardiogram and other cardiovascular tests of patients with cardiovascular diseases and a control group, and the results that will be obtained in the system developed for the study participants. “In this way we will be able to understand if the system is indeed able to overcome the existing problem in the patient,” he says.

Detect heart disorders through an eye test

According to the professor, assuming that the research is indeed successful, the innovative development will be able to come into use in the coming years. “Our vision is to use an eye test to identify heart disorders, and even life-threatening conditions such as heart failure in the early stages that will allow the problem to be treated optimally and quickly. Currently, such a test is not part of the doctors’ arsenal of tests, but if it is introduced, then even people who Unaware of the fact that they need a medical examination and a specialist doctor, they will be able to receive a quick and high-quality diagnosis and treat their problem even before the symptoms even appeared.”

Identifying diseases through the eyes is a groundbreaking field that has gained momentum in recent years. Only about a year ago, researchers developed a technology to predict diabetes in humans using fundus photography, a technology that was even approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). “The eye can predict many medical conditions in different ways,” says Prof. Harris. “In our development, we focus on testing the blood flow from the tubes of the heart to the eye, which is actually one common system of blood vessels. Any change, even in the smallest blood vessel, is significant and can indicate changes in the heart’s activity. Our development is the first in the world to use both mathematical models and artificial intelligence to detect cardiac activity”. By the way, he explains that detection of diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s using the eye is also being researched. “The detection of these diseases focuses on the nerve cells at the bottom of the eye. It’s not just that they say that the eyes are the window to the body – it’s really true.”

According to Harris, when it comes to the integration of artificial intelligence in the world of medicine, the sky is the limit. “The whole world of medicine is going in the direction of personalized medicine, and technologies like this do advance us there. In the future, we will be able to reach a situation where instead of being referred for a hundred tests, or for screening tests that are not always accurate, we will be able to get a complete mapping through one eye test. Our goal is that this will be A test that can also be done by a general practitioner, a family doctor or a doctor in the emergency department and which will not necessarily require an ophthalmologist.”

However, Harris clarifies that artificial intelligence is just another means to achieve the goal of detecting diseases at an early stage. He emphasizes that despite the use of advanced technologies, there is a need for a doctor to perform the photographs or the examination properly. “In the end, artificial intelligence is a tool with advantages and disadvantages. It cannot perform the imaging itself for us. In the end, we rely on the quality and resolution of the imaging or on the photography, to create the database on which the artificial intelligence model works. Assuming these are not done properly, the system that analyzes the information You won’t be worth much.”