FDA approves America's first ever AI medical device that doesn't need a doctor

US health regulators have approved the first ever artificially intelligent medical device that can identify disease without need for a doctor. The device, called IDx-DR, is designed to detect the most common cause of vision loss among more than 30 million Americans living with diabetes. Its in-built camera takes a picture of the patient's eye, which is assessed by an algorithm to determine whether there are signs of diabetic retinopathy. The move, announced on Wednesday, makes this the first AI device to receive FDA approval to screen without need for a doctor to interpret the results. It means any doctor could use it, including primary care physicians who interact far more frequently with patients with diabetes, rather than patients having to seek out eye doctors themselves.