We probably all remember the saying that the eye is the window to our soul. However, it is now also literally becoming the window to our body and state of health.
Oculomics: A New Medical Frontier
Doctors have long known that the eye can act as a ‘window’ to the rest of the body, providing direct insight into many aspects of our health. Professor Pearse Keane introduced the term “oculomics” to describe this concept of using the eye as a window to the body’s health. The retina at the back of the eye allows medical professionals to directly view both the vascular and nervous systems.
High-resolution images of the retina are now a routine part of eye care..In particular, a type of 3D scan known as ‘optical coherence tomography’ (OCT) is widely used in eye clinics and high-street opticians. In less than a minute, an OCT scan produces a cross-section of the retina in incredible detail—down to a thousandth of a millimeter.
Powered with the background of AI sifting through its database, the ability to spot diseases long before they become serious is expanding at dizzying speed.
Beyond Eye Health: Detecting Systemic Diseases
Not so long ago, retinal scans were primarily confined to checking eye health alone, such as determining if a person was at risk for glaucoma. Now, however, scanning a retina has revealed many different and valuable clues about a person’s overall health.
In fact one of the best ways to predict the type of issues you may face as you grow older is simply to have a retinal eye scan—notably cheaper than checking into a longevity spa for a series of tests and predictions of your biological age and future.
AI-Enhanced Retinal Imaging
This is where retinal imaging becomes particularly interesting. In one of the more positive uses of AI, researchers can now leverage artificial intelligence to effectively help them scan for serious illnesses, including neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.
Exciting developments are occurring around the world. In the UK, relevant AI was developed by a team from Moorfields Eye Hospital and UCL scientists. Their research process involved a crucial data integration approach:
Teaching Computers to Be Medical Forecasters
The journey to create an AI that sees disease before symptoms began with a massive data banquet. Researchers first fed their hungry algorithms the AlzEye dataset—a treasure trove built by two NHS foundation trusts containing millions of retinal scans from Alzheimer’s patients, along with their complete medical profiles.
But an AI that only recognizes disease is half-blind; it needed to understand healthy eyes too. So researchers introduced it to the UK Biobank’s vast collection of scans from healthy volunteers, teaching the system to differentiate between normal variation and disease’s subtle fingerprints. In effect a highly sophisticated ‘spot-the-difference’ challenge. This is hard for humans to distinguish but for a well-trained algorithm it’s a whirl, a twirl before spitting out on a screen read out a prediction.
Finally, for completion’s sake they also have utilized the world’s largest repository of retinal images and clinical data—creating a system with remarkable predictive powers. The result is having a medical fortune-teller on hand. Except instead of relying on tea leaves there’s a mountain of data behind the prediction. Moorlands Hospital believes they now have the ability to spot Parkinson’s disease seven years before physical signs become visible. Similarly, it is extremely good at early detection of Alzheimer’s.
From Personal Crisis to Medical Revolution: The Mediwhale Story
While several startups are racing to market with retinal scanning technology, none has a founder story quite as compelling as Mediwhale’s. The company traces its origins back to the day Kevin Choi received devastating news. At 24, he had undiagnosed glaucoma.
During his treatment, Choi struck up a conversation with his ophthalmologist, Dr. Tyler Rim. What began as doctor-patient small talk about machine learning quickly evolved into something far more ambitious. By 2016, they’d launched Mediwhale, bringing in a tech wizard, Young Lee, to complete their vision-saving trio.
What they’ve created since then is nothing short of remarkable – a system that peers into your eyes and sees your future. Their technology does for preventative medicine what Google Maps did for navigation, turning the humble eye scan into a crystal ball for health forecasting. “Many diseases are related to blood vessel damage,” Choi explains “By directly examining these vessels with AI, we can spot trouble brewing years ahead.”
The beauty lies in its simplicity. Your family doctor takes a quick retinal snapshot, the algorithm does its thing, and suddenly you’re looking at a personalized health forecast. No hospital visit, no radiation, no needles – just a glimpse into your eyes revealing cardiovascular risks, kidney problems, and even eye conditions themselves.
Their kidney assessment outperforms traditional tests, while their heart disease predictions rival expensive CT scans – all from a simple photograph of your retina.
Their work hasn’t gone unnoticed. AstraZeneca recently handed them a €40,000 grant along with something far more valuable: access. Mediwhale’s kidney disease detection system will soon be circulated through AstraZeneca’s global innovation network, with comprehensive support to develop pilot programs that could transform routine care.
Like any AI application, there has been significant and constant investment in being introduced and trained on retinal images from around the world. They have availed themselves of at least 500,000 images. This impressive dataset has already helped them secure regulatory approval across Asia and Europe, with America next in their sights.
“We’re bringing affordable, accessible preventative care to improve the health of over 300 million Americans,” says Choi, whose enthusiasm is as infectious as his vision is clear. “No radiation risks, no blood tests, no specialist visits – just a quick scan at your family doctor’s office.”
It’s the kind of medical revolution that happens so elegantly you barely notice the paradigm shift – until suddenly, everyone’s getting their eyes scanned not just to check their vision, but to glimpse their medical future. For Choi, who nearly lost an eye before founding Mediwhale, the irony is perfect: his company now helps millions keep their health by looking deeply into their eyes.
As this technology continues to develop, retinal imaging stands to become one of the most valuable non-invasive diagnostic tools in modern medicine, potentially revolutionizing how we approach preventive healthcare.
As this technology continues to develop, retinal imaging stands to become one of the most valuable non-invasive diagnostic tools in modern medicine, potentially revolutionising how we approach preventive healthcare.
