AAO 2023: Shining the spotlight on advances in artificial intelligence

(Image Credit: AdobeStock/metamorworks)

Ophthalmology is an image-based and data-rich specialty of medicine, giving it possibly the widest scope for the application of artificial intelligence in medicine.

A perfect example can be found in the wide range of research and symposia to be presented this week in San Francisco at AAO 2023, the 127th annual meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, taking place Nov. 3-6 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco.

The promise of AI is now without its pitfalls, which will also be discussed this week.

AAO noted in a news release Sophia Ying Wang, MD, an assistant professor of Ophthalmology at Stanford, will chair a symposium entitled, Glaucoma Care for All: Opportunities and Pitfalls of Artificial Intelligence.

“We must keep in mind the diversity of "training" data these algorithms were created on, and whether any fairness evaluations were carried out on the algorithms,” Wang said in the news release. “We must think carefully about what definition of "fair" applies best to each specific algorithm and the problem it intends to solve. We must think about the actions we might take as a result of AI - are they assistive or "punitive" in some way, and do they affect different populations of patients differently? We must also think about which patients are being served by our algorithms and which are not. These are just a few of the questions we'll hope to discuss in our upcoming symposium.”

Here's a full list of the AI-related research to be presented:

Retina Subspecialty Day

• Toward Continuous Disease Severity Scores Using Deep Learning in MacTel Type 2
  Aaron Y Lee, MD
• Role of AI in Fluid Quantification and Dynamics for Neovascular AMD Patients Using Home OCT
  Anat Loewenstein, MD
• AI in the Management of Geographic Atrophy
  Ursula M Schmidt-Erfurth, MD
• Evaluation and Review of Automated Diabetic Retinopathy Screening
  Roomasa Channa, MD
• ChatGPT in the Modern Retina Practice
  Raymond Iezzi, MD

Refractive Surgery Subspecialty Day

• Artificial Intelligence for Ectasia Risk Assessment
  João Marcelo Lyra, MD, PHD
• Artificial Intelligence for Optimizing Refractive Outcomes
  Oliver Findl, MD
• The Influence of Artificial Intelligence in IOL Calculation
  Thomas Kohnen MD, PhD, FEBO
• Ectasia Risk Model: A Novel Method Without Cut-off Point Based on Artificial Intelligence Improves Detection of Higher-Risk Eyes
  Marcony R Santhiago, MD
• Artificial Intelligence for Refractive Surgery
  Dimitri T Azar, MD

Ocular Oncology and Pathology Subspecialty Day

• Artificial Intelligence in Uveal Melanoma
  Andrew W Stacey, MD

Symposia:

The Future of Ocular Oncology: Artificial Intelligence and More

• Telepathology and Artificial Intelligence in Pathology
  Patricia Chevez-Barrios MD
• Applied Artifical Intelligence in Ocular Oncology
  Zelia M. Correa, MD, PHD
• TeleOncology Current Trends
  Matthew W. Wilson, MD

Glaucoma Care for All: Opportunities and Pitfalls of Artificial Intelligence 

• A Framework for Fairness
  Sophia Ying Wang, MD
• Fair Models: Diversity in Glaucoma Datasets
  Nazlee Zebardast, MD
• Fair Deployment I: Screening Programs
  Lauren Patty Daskivich, MD
• Fair Deployment II: Clinical Decision Support Programs
  Brian C. Stagg, MD
• Fairly Treated: The Patient’s Perspective on Artificial Intelligence
  Ciku Wanjiku Mathenge, MD, PHD
• Robert N Shaffer Lecture: Expanding the Reach of Glaucoma Care: Out-of-Office Testing and Telemedicine
  L. Jay Katz, MD

Using Technology to Solve the Biggest Problems in Ophthalmology

• Can Technology Make Medical Education Better? Turbocharge Learning for New and Older Learners by Combining the New Science of Learning with Simulation and Generative AI
  Daniel C. Tu, MD, PhD
• Hello, ER Doc, Can You Take an OCT and We Can Talk in a Bit? How Tele-Consults Can Transform Hospital-Based Ophthalmology Care
  April Y. Maa, MD
• Closing the Gap in Ophthalmic Screening with Technology
  Bobeck S. Modjtahedi, MD
• The Tech-Driven Back Office: Can AI Answer Phone Calls, Schedule Appointments and Fight Insurance Companies? Why Back-Office Functions Are Better AI Use Cases Than Replacing Physician Tasks
  Renee Bovelle, MD
• Panel Discussion: What Are the Biggest Unsolved Problems in Ophthalmology? What Technology-Based Solutions Are the Most Promising?

New Technologies in Teaching

• Artificial Intelligence: The Current Technology and Known Applications
  Eduardo P. Mayorga, MD
• Improving How You Plan and Create Content for Teaching in a World With AI
  Ana Gabriela Palis, MD
• Artificial Intelligence and Its Role in Clinical Teaching and Learning
  Giselle C. Ricur, MD
• Live Demonstration of Several Applications Discussed
  Eduardo P. Mayorga, MD

Non-neovascular AMD—The New Frontier

• Arnall Patz Lecture: Automated AI-based Image Analysis for Empowering Real-world AMD (Wet and Dry) Management
  Ursula M. Schmidt-Erfurth, MD

New Era in Telehealth: A Federal Perspective on Opportunities, Challenges and What Comes Next

The COVID-19 pandemic created extraordinary challenges for the U.S. healthcare system and resulted in a rapid increase in the use of telehealth. Already pioneers in the field, our federal healthcare systems continue to lead in this new era of telehealth. In this symposium, VA, DOD, and IHS ophthalmologists will review how their agencies are utilizing telehealth so patients can access care when and where they need it and how the COVID-19 pandemic helped fuel the expansion of telehealth in the federal healthcare systems. Panelists will also examine how artificial intelligence is shaping the future of telehealth in ophthalmology.

Scientific Posters

• Streamlining the Periorbital Measurement Process Using Automated and Semiautomated Approaches
• Development of IOL Calculation Formula Utilizing ChatGPT and AI Algorithm
• OCT Images for Cataract Grading: An AI-Based Approach
• Evaluating Text-Based Generative AI Models for Patient Information on Cataract Surgery
• Novel Pattern Reflection Topography Data Analyzed by AI: Comparison of KCN Corneas to Normal, and Accuracy vs. Scheimpflug Tomography
• EE-Explorer: A Multimodal AI System for Eye Emergency Triage and Primary Diagnosis
• Harnessing AI for Glaucoma Screening With a Smartphone: A Prospective Comparative Study
• Evaluating the Diagnostic Accuracy of an AI-Powered Handheld Fundus Camera for Glaucoma Detection in a Tertiary Glaucoma Referral Center
• Utilizing AI for the Diagnosis of Glaucoma
• Comparing the Readability of Patient Education Documents Generated by AI-Based Chatbots With Those on the Academy?s Website
• Exploring the Role of AI Chatbots in Ophthalmology
• Smartphone-Based Universal Screening for Rare Ocular Diseases
• Myopia Management Personalized by Integrating Imaging, Biomechanics and Molecular Factor Using AI
• The Distribution of Fundus Changes in Different Axial Lengths and Its AI Quantitative Monitoring Indexes in 3,907 Chinese Children With Myopia in the Early Stage
• A Multimodal AI Risk Scoring Model to Predict the Development of Referable DR Within 3 and 5 Years: DR-PREDICT
• Real-World Comparison of an AI System and Endocrinologists for Detecting Referrable DR in an Asian Population in Hong Kong
• Evaluation of the Efficacy of ChatGPT-4 in the Prediction of DR Risk in Indian Patients
• Comparison of a Novel Chaotic Model With Conventional Convolutional Neural Networks Models for Diagnosis of Keratoconus

Papers

• AI Models for Predicting Glaucoma Progression in a Large Multicenter EHR Consortium: The Sight Outcomes Research Collaborative
• Initial Results of AI Voice Automation of Preoperative Assessment for Ophthalmic Surgery