A new study by the University of Birmingham finds that AI aids in diagnosing infectious keratitis (IK), a leading cause of corneal blindness worldwide. In a meta-analysis study published in eClinicalMedicine, Dr Darren Ting from the University of Birmingham conducted a review with a global team of researchers analysing 35 studies that utilised Deep Learning (DL) models to diagnose infectious keratitis.

AI models in the study matched the diagnostic accuracy of ophthalmologists, exhibiting a sensitivity of 89.2% and specificity of 93.2%, compared to ophthalmologists' 82.2% sensitivity and 89.6% specificity.

The models in the study had analysed over 136,000 corneal images combined, and the authors say that the results further demonstrate the potential use of artificial intelligence in clinical settings.

Fast and reliable

Dr Darren Ting, Senior author of the study, Birmingham Health Partners (BHP) Fellow and Consultant Ophthalmologist, University of Birmingham said:

"Our study shows that AI has the potential to provide fast, reliable diagnoses, which could revolutionise how we manage corneal infections globally. This is particularly promising for regions where access to specialist eye care is limited, and can help to reduce the burden of preventable blindness worldwide."

The AI models also proved effective at differentiating between healthy eyes, infected corneas, and the various underlying causes of IK, such as bacterial or fungal infections.

While these results highlight the potential of DL in healthcare, the study's authors emphasised the need for more diverse data and further external validation to increase the reliability of these models for clinical use.

Interpretation

The study states that DL models may have good diagnostic accuracy for IK and comparable performance to ophthalmologists. These findings should be interpreted with caution due to the image-based analysis that did not account for potential correlation within individuals, relatively homogeneous population studies, lack of pre-specification of DL thresholds, and limited external validation. Future studies should improve their reporting, data diversity, external validation, transparency, and explainability to increase the reliability and generalisability of DL models for clinical deployment.

Infectious keratitis, an inflammation of the cornea, affects millions, particularly in low- and middle-income countries where access to specialist eye care is limited. As AI technology continues to grow and play a pivotal role in medicine, it may soon become a key tool in preventing corneal blindness globally.

ScienceDaily

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