Deep learning algorithm shows accuracy in detecting glaucoma on fundus photographs

Automated deep learning analysis of fundus photographs showed high diagnostic accuracy in determining primary open-angle glaucoma, with increased ability to detect glaucoma earlier than human readers. A deep learning (DL) algorithm was trained, validated and tested on the fundus stereophotographs of participants enrolled in the Ocular Hypertension Treatment Study (OHTS), a randomized clinical trial evaluating the safety and efficacy of IOP-lowering medications in preventing progression from ocular hypertension to primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG). Assessment of optic disc and visual field changes in the OHTS was performed by two reading centers and a masked committee of glaucoma specialists, "a demanding, laborious and complicated task," according to the authors. The OHTS data set consisted of fundus photographs from 1,636 participants, of which 1,147 were included in the training set, 167 in the validation set and 322 in the test set. The DL model detected conversion to POAG with high diagnostic accuracy, suggesting that artificial intelligence can offer a reliable tool to automate the determination of glaucoma for clinical trial management, simplifying the process of human interpretation and, possibly, making it more standardized, objective and accurate.