A multi-centre prospective trial of artificial intelligence (AI) platform Theia found it did not miss referable disease when screening for diabetic retinopathy (DR) and maculopathy.

Researchers at Auckland University, University College of London and Auckland’s Toku Eyes recruited 900 participants from the New Zealand Diabetic Eye Screening Programme and used Theia to screen for ‘more-than-mild DR’ and sight-threatening disease. Researchers reported Theia achieved overall accuracy of 98% and did not miss any referable cases. The level of agreement with three senior clinicians’ grading was expressed in k values of 0.9881, 0.9557 and 0.9175.

Having been tested on a variety of cameras and in a range of rural/urban, ophthalmologist-led/optometrist-led clinics, researchers concluded Theia will be a suitable addition to a public diabetic screening programme.

See our interview with Toku Eyes founder Dr Ehsan Vaghefi here.