Smart Governance
SmartHealth
AI network
for eye
care
T
By Prashant Gupta
oday, eyecare is set to leverage
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
and machine learning to help
millions of people to predict and
reduce the loss of vision.
Refractive errors, such as
near-sightedness (myopia) and
farsightedness (hyperopia), are
some of the most common visual
impairments in the world. Myopia
is relatively more prevalent and
affects a younger cohort. Children and
young adults tend to develop signs
of myopia early on. If left untreated,
myopia could become pathological.
Pathological myopia can alter the
shape and globe of the eye, leading
to acute vision loss.
Although hyperopia isn’t as
common as myopia in young children,
severe cases could have an equally
detrimental effect. High degrees of
Nearly 285 million people
around the world suffer
from some form of visual
impairment. Recent
medical data indicates
that nearly 70 per cent of
these cases could have
been prevented with early
detection and screening.
hyperopia are associated with sensory
and visual motor problems that may
result in serious visual impairments.
Is a global visual impairment
epidemic on the horizon?
Visual impairments and refractive
errors have become a global health
issue in recent years. The rate of
impairments continues to increase.
Studies suggest that 2.5 billion people
could suffer from myopia by 2020 and
the number is expected to increase to
5 billion by 2050.
“Uncorrected refractive error is the
leading cause of visual impairment
and one of the major causes of
blindness in the world,” says Dr.
G.N. Rao, Founder and Chair, L V
Prasad Eye Institute.
The magnitude of the problem
appears to be on the rise all over
the world as per the currently
available data. To prevent blindness
from turning into a global epidemic,
eyecare providers need better tools
to monitor cases and detect the ones
with a higher risk of turning severe.
AI-driven healthcare network
is tackling the challenge
At Microsoft, we are committed
to leveraging machine learning and
14 | May 2018 | www.smartgovernance.in