AI could help diagnose dementia through vision tests

Scottish researchers are working on a new AI tool that could be used by high street opticians to detect early signs of dementia.

Photographs taken of the retina at the back of the eye can give an indication of brain health, and by using AI software to analyze the information, scientists may be able to detect signs of disease before the appearance of symptoms.

The NeurEYE research team collected almost a million eye tests from opticians across Scotland – the largest dataset of its kind in the world – and, with the help of AI, developed an algorithm capable of assessing the health of blood vessels in the eye. could indicate neurogenerative diseases.

The database the team has built can be applied to photographs taken during routine eye exams and could potentially be used by clinicians either to prevent the onset of disease or to diagnose conditions at a much later stage. earlier than that currently available.

The blood vessels in the eye are very small and thin, which means they may appear earlier than other parts of the body.

The NeurEYE team is led by the University of Edinburgh and includes researchers from Glasgow Caledonian University.

Baljean Dhillon, professor of clinical ophthalmology at the University of Edinburgh and co-lead of NeurEYE, said: “The eye can tell us much more than we thought possible.

“The retina contains a wealth of information and is a biological barometer of our brain health. We can see the retina with the simple, inexpensive equipment found on every high street in the UK and in beyond.

“Something very simple like a photograph of a retina can now be harnessed to potentially predict brain changes later in life.”

Dementia stops a person’s brain cells from working properly, affecting their ability to remember, think and speak.

According to Dementia UK, it affects one in 14 people over 65 and one in six people over 80.

Illnesses such as Alzheimer’s disease can cause memory loss, confusion, or problems with speaking and understanding.

There is no known cure for dementia yet, but early diagnosis can allow patients to receive treatment sooner and give the patient and those around them more time to adapt and prepare for the future. .

Retired mechanical engineer David Steele, 65, whose mother has Alzheimer’s, told BBC Scotland News that an early diagnosis could have saved his family 10 years of heartbreak and struggle.

Her mother regularly went to the optician because her eyesight was deteriorating.

She was initially diagnosed with macular degeneration, but this masked the underlying problem which is now known to be brain blindness linked to Alzheimer’s disease.

Mr Steele said earlier diagnosis of this disease would have made a difference.

“It would have had a huge impact on every level, but the biggest impact would have been on my father who had to deal with the whole process of my mother’s decline,” he said.

“If the connection could have been made 10 years ago, it would have allowed my father to have a better life. It would also have allowed the family to pave a path for mom to become worse and worse.”

He added: “You may not want to know the message, but you really need to know the message, and then you can plan the rest of what’s going to happen to you.

“Anything that can be put in place early is really, really important because you have to prepare for the moment when it becomes no longer easy to manage life.”

Specialist optometrist Ian Cameron, who runs a practice in Edinburgh, said: “The eye is unique in the sense that it is a window to the whole body.

“All systems of the body are represented, so besides all the eye diseases we look for – cataracts, glaucoma, macular degeneration, vision problems – we also detect things related to your vascular system, your heart, your high blood pressure. , diabetes and there are even links to neurological diseases that you can detect in the eyes.

“Some conditions appear quite late, but thanks to this technology we are detecting them earlier and earlier. Eye care can lead to better health outcomes if you have your eyes tested regularly.”

He added: “Everyone needs to have an eye exam every two years because there are so many things that can be detected. The sooner we can find things, the better.”

The team behind the project hope to have a prototype ready later this year with a wider rollout of the technology to opticians across the country in 2026.