Using DeepMind's neural network learning system to diagnose eye diseases

Three institutions working together have applied DeepMind's neural network learning system to the task of discovering and diagnosing eye diseases. Moorfields Eye Hospital has been working with Google's DeepMind Health subsidiary and University College London in the effort, and have documented their progress in a paper published in Nature Medicine. As the researchers note, eye doctors currently use a machine that carries out optical coherence tomography (OCT) on patients to find out if they have an eye disease. While the technique is quite useful and accurate, it requires highly trained doctors to spend time looking at results. The researchers suggest this creates a backlog that sometimes prevents patients from getting the care they need in time to save their vision.