George and Matilda Eyecare (G&M) and IBM Research Australia will work together to determine how retinal fundus photos, optical coherence tomography (OCT) images, and AI algorithms can be used to inform and potentially help guide practitioners in detecting glaucoma.
Using retinal photos and OCT images, IBM Research Australia scientists and G&M will train and validate AI algorithms and use the resulting image analytics models to look at the relationship between several characteristics of the optic nerve in determining instances of glaucoma. Teams will aim to determine the correlation between glaucoma severity and higher eye pressure readings, higher cup to disc ratios, and the thinning and thickness of certain retinal layers.
Chris Beer, G&M CEO said, “We think this research will allow us the ability to improve best practice for the patients that entrust their eyesight to our care. We are also excited about what this collaboration… will bring in new learnings for patients in the future.” In previously published work, IBM Research Australia taught AI algorithms to detect the level of diabetic retinopathy1 from looking at retinal photos alone.2
References
- www.cera.org.au/wp-content/ uploads/2015/11/OutOfSightReport.pdf
- www.ibm.com/blogs/research/2017/04/ spotting-diabetic-retinopathy/
