Eyeworld

27 EW NEWS & OPINION June 2018 input it into a computer, you can get high-quality performance on very narrow tasks," Dr. Abramoff said. "Everything you can image … is a prime candidate for using AI to improve diagnostics." EW References 1. American College of Physicians. ADA position statement updates recommendations for diabetic retinopathy. ACP Diabetes Monthly. March 2017. 2. American Academy of Ophthalmology Retina/Vitreous Panel. Diabetic Retinopathy Preferred Practice Pattern Guidelines. 3. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National Diabetes Statistics Report, 2017. Estimates of Diabetes and Its Burden in the United States. 4. Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. 2020 Topics & Objectives – Diabe- tes. www.healthypeople.gov/2020/topics-ob- jectives/topic/diabetes/objectives. Accessed April 25, 2018. 5. Murchison AP, et al. Non-adherence to eye care in people with diabetes. BMJ Open Diabetes Res Care. 2017;5:e000333 6. Abramoff M. Artificial intelligence for automated detection of diabetic retinopathy in primary care. 2018 Macula Society Annual Meeting. 7. Eydelman M. U.S. Food and Drug Adminis- tration. Brain implant for some blind people shows benefits of FDA's Breakthrough Device Program. FDA Voice. February 27, 2018. Editors' note: Dr. Abramoff has financial interests with IDx. Contact information Abramoff: abramoff@eyediagnosis.net "The Breakthrough Device [des- ignation] helped in making every- thing more efficient, allowing the FDA to come back to us sometimes within 24 hours," Dr. Abramoff said, speculating, however, that some of the speed of the process was due to the strong results in the clinical trial. "It was an astounding experience." Dr. Abramoff said that he worked closely with the FDA after he founded the company 7 years ago, before even becoming part of the Breakthrough Devices Program. "The FDA, understandably, was somewhat uncomfortable in the beginning with this idea, so we went back and forth for years, trying to see how we could bring this to patients safely and effectively, what the scientific evidence needed to be, how it fits into the clinic, etc. It was an enormous effort on the FDA's part," he said. Moving forward, Dr. Abramoff said IDx has a pipeline of products. It is already developing an autono- mous glaucoma detection product for primary care settings, which he said will enter clinical trials soon. Research has also been done on using autonomous AI with OCT images for detection of Alzheimer's disease, detection of cardiovascular risk factors based on retinal vessels, and more. "AI has been around in health- care since the 1960s. The differ- ence now is we have much faster computers, we are much better at algorithms, but more importantly, we have more objective input data from digital images and high-quality sensors. Because the images don't require a doctor to interpret it and I N S T R U M E N T S | S I N G L E U S E | D R Y E Y E | B I O L O G I C S Lacrivera® by Stephens Instruments offers a full line of premium punctal occlusion and dry eye diagnostic products. Our VeraPlug FlexFit™ includes an industry leading 45 day retention pledge with the same high quality and superior service that you've come to expect from Stephens. Stephens – more than instruments. Look to Stephens for dry eye management. VeraPlug™ FlexFit ™ Stephens Instruments | 2500 Sandersville Rd | Lexington KY 40511 USA Toll Free ( USA ) 800.354.7848 | info@stephensinst.com | stephensinst.com © 2018 Stephens Instruments. All rights reserved. " It takes about 30 seconds for the AI system to make the clinical diagnosis. " —Michael Abramoff, MD, PhD

• Cover