Idx raises $33 million for AI diagnostic systems that detect eye disease and other conditions

Artificial intelligence (AI) is emerging as a key tool in just about every industry, from marketing to recruitment and beyond. But one particularly powerful application for AI is in health care, where we're already seeing early signs of its potential. Iowa-based Idx is one startup using AI to detect early signs of specific medical conditions. Its first system, IDx-DR, is an AI diagnostic system that analyzes images of the retina for signs of diabetic retinopathy, a complication of diabetes caused by high sugar levels. This means that health care providers, including doctors who are not eye care specialists, can use the IDx-DR system to detect diabetic retinopathy without needing to bring in a specialist clinician to interpret the image scan or results.