Did you miss last month’s Ophthalmology Technology Forum (OTF)? Don’t worry—we’ve got you covered.
The two-day meeting, held annually in Newport Beach, CA, kicked off with a discussion of the state of the healthcare market, highlighting the primary trends that would drive discussions over the course of the day.
So what was the biggest topic at OTF this year?
There were a few, but we’re going to focus on the big one: AI and machine learning.
From surgical planning to patient communication, AI is already touching nearly every aspect of the ophthalmic care continuum. (For previous Glance coverage of the topic, see here.)
Isn’t turning over clinical care to an algorithm dangerous?
There are many misconceptions about AI in healthcare, John Hovanesian, MD, FACS of Harvard Eye Associates, told Glance following his moderation of the panel on AI in ophthalmology.
“One is that AI makes mistakes all the time, but most of us are aware of systems like ChatGPT that use the Internet as the source of their training.”
AI systems in ophthalmology, he pointed out, are trained on very specific data sets—”so they’re not prone to the misinformation that comes from the unfiltered world of the internet.”
Quick note—who was on that panel and what did it cover?
While there were actually a few talks on AI in ophthalmology, t the big one—moderated by Dr. Hovanesian—featured these speakers:
- Arsen Grigoryan, COO, Harvard Eye Associates
- Jean-Pierre Hubschman, MD, co-founder & CEO, Horizon Surgical Systems
- Jim Mazzo, executive chairman, Neurotech; co-founder, Octane
- Ryan Smith, MD, Pacific Eye Institute
- Euan S. Thomson, PhD, head of Digital Business; president of Ophthalmic Device; board chair & CEO, Carl Zeiss Meditec, Inc.
- Ben Toker, co-founder, president, Amaros, Inc
The topics: FDA-approved AI tools, AI for retina and glaucoma, and personalized AI treatment plans.
Ok … so what’s holding AI back? Why isn’t it everywhere in ophthalmology?
A few reasons: integration challenges with electronic medical records (EMRs), lack of reimbursement pathways, and the need for better clinician education, among others.
“AI can’t be a standalone,” observed Euan Thomson. “It has to integrate with the systems that are already in place—so either an EMR system, a data management tool, or a device that somebody already has.”
So what does the future hold?
“The future is going to be in screening, early detection of diseases, and also more personalized management of disease,” Thomson told Glance. “Large-scale aggregation of data is going to give us more insights into how to apply treatments in a more personalized way, giving every patient a better outcome.”
And lastly?
AI is set to impact the entire field’s approach to disease management, predicted Mayssa Attar, senior vice president, Pharmaceutical and Consumer R&D head at Bausch + Lomb. “The way that it’s crazy now that you would work without a computer, it’s going to be crazy that you would work without AI-enabled technology.”
Thomson agreed.
“[AI is] going to change healthcare completely—not just eyecare, but healthcare.”