The algorithms that are already changing your life

At Moorfields Eye Hospital in London, consultants are facing a familiar problem. Age-related eye diseases are becoming more and more common, and as the British demographic gets ever older, numbers are predicted to increase by between a third and one half. "We have enormous numbers of patients, we can barely cope," says Professor Peng Tee Khaw, a consultant ophthalmic surgeon. "We need to look at new ways to deal with the issue." When a patient arrives at Moorfields, doctors will likely perform an eye scan that captures a 3D cross-section of the person's retina.