Researchers at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) have developed VisionFM, an artificial intelligence (AI) model that excels in diagnosing and predicting various eye conditions. This AI-driven advancement demonstrated superior accuracy compared to intermediate-level ophthalmologists in key diagnostic tasks, positioning it as a transformative tool in healthcare. The VisionFM model specializes in ophthalmic clinical tasks, including disease screening and diagnosis….Continue reading…
By: Yasmeeta Oon
Source: Hong Kong AI Model Beats Doctors in Diagnosing Eye Diseases
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There are many diseases, disorders, and age-related changes that may affect the eyes and surrounding structures. As the eye ages, certain changes occur that can be attributed solely to the aging process. Most of these anatomic and physiologic processes follow a gradual decline. With aging, the quality of vision worsens due to reasons independent of diseases of the aging eye.
While there are many changes of significance in the non-diseased eye, the most functionally important changes seem to be a reduction in pupil size and the loss of accommodation or focusing capability (presbyopia). The area of the pupil governs the amount of light that can reach the retina. The extent to which the pupil dilates decreases with age, leading to a substantial decrease in light received at the retina.
In comparison to younger people, it is as though older persons are constantly wearing medium-density sunglasses. Therefore, for any detailed visually guided tasks on which performance varies with illumination, older persons require extra lighting. Certain ocular diseases can come from sexually transmitted infections such as herpes and genital warts. If contact between the eye and area of infection occurs, the STI can be transmitted to the eye.
With aging, a prominent white ring develops in the periphery of the cornea called arcus senilis. Aging causes laxity, downward shift of eyelid tissues and atrophy of the orbital fat. These changes contribute to the etiology of several eyelid disorders such as ectropion, entropion, dermatochalasis, and ptosis. The vitreous gel undergoes liquefaction (posterior vitreous detachment or PVD) and its opacities — visible as floaters — gradually increase in number.
Eye care professionals, including ophthalmologists and optometrists, are involved in the treatment and management of ocular and vision disorders. A Snellen chart is one type of eye chart used to measure visual acuity. At the conclusion of a complete eye examination, the eye doctor might provide the patient with an eyeglass prescription for corrective lenses.
Some disorders of the eyes for which corrective lenses are prescribed include myopia (near-sightedness), hyperopia (far-sightedness), astigmatism, and presbyopia (the loss of focusing range during aging).Macular degeneration is especially prevalent in the U.S. and affects roughly 1.75 million Americans each year. Having lower levels of lutein and zeaxanthin within the macula may be associated with an increase in the risk of age-related macular degeneration.
Lutein and zeaxanthin act as antioxidants that protect the retina and macula from oxidative damage from high-energy light waves.[106] As the light waves enter the eye, they excite electrons that can cause harm to the cells in the eye, but they can cause oxidative damage that may lead to macular degeneration or cataracts. Lutein and zeaxanthin bind to the electron free radical and are reduced rendering the electron safe.
There are many ways to ensure a diet rich in lutein and zeaxanthin, the best of which is to eat dark green vegetables including kale, spinach, broccoli and turnip greens. Nutrition is an important aspect of the ability to achieve and maintain proper eye health. Lutein and zeaxanthin are two major carotenoids, found in the macula of the eye, that are being researched to identify their role in the pathogenesis of eye disorders such as age-related macular degeneration and cataracts.
Eye irritation has been defined as “the magnitude of any stinging, scratching, burning, or other irritating sensation from the eye”.[61] It is a common problem experienced by people of all ages. Related eye symptoms and signs of irritation are discomfort, dryness, excess tearing, itchiness, grating, foreign body sensation, ocular fatigue, pain, soreness, redness, swollen eyelids, and tiredness, etc. These eye symptoms are reported with intensities from mild to severe.
It has been suggested that these eye symptoms are related to different causal mechanisms, and symptoms are related to the particular ocular anatomy involved. Several suspected causal factors in our environment have been studied so far. One hypothesis is that indoor air pollution may cause eye and airway irritation. Eye irritation depends somewhat on destabilization of the outer-eye tear film, i.e. the formation of dry spots on the cornea, resulting in ocular discomfort.
Occupational factors are also likely to influence the perception of eye irritation. Some of these are lighting (glare and poor contrast), gaze position, reduced blink rate, limited number of breaks from visual tasking, and a constant combination of accommodation, musculoskeletal burden, and impairment of the visual nervous system. Another factor that may be related is work stress.
In addition, psychological factors have been found in multivariate analyses to be associated with an increase in eye irritation among VDU users. Other risk factors, such as chemical toxins/irritants amines, formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, acrolein, N-Decane, VOCs, ozone, pesticides and preservatives, allergens, etc. might cause eye irritation as well.
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