US approves artificial-intelligence device for diabetic eye problems

US regulators Wednesday approved the first device that uses artificial intelligence to detect eye damage from diabetes, allowing regular doctors to diagnose the condition without interpreting any data or images. The device, called IDx-DR, can diagnose a condition called diabetic retinopathy, the most common cause of vision loss among the more than 30 million Americans living with diabetes. Its software uses an artificial intelligence algorithm to analyze images of the eye, taken with a retinal camera called the Topcon NW400, the FDA said. "A doctor uploads the digital images of the patient's retinas to a cloud server on which IDx-DR software is installed," said the agency in a statement. The answer comes back that the patient's eye problem is "more than mild" and they should seek treatment from a specialist, or it is negative for diabetic retinopathy and the patient can be rescreened in a year.