Artificial intelligence is now being used to diagnose a common eye disease. The device, called IDx-DR, uses software and a retinal camera to take images of a patient's retina. It then uses an artificial intelligence algorithm to evaluate the images and effectively diagnose diabetic retinopathy, a diabetes complication that can lead to blindness. Developers hope this new device will make it easier for patients to get diagnosed outside of a clinical environment, leading perhaps to catching the condition earlier. The University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics became the first to use the new technology in June, according to reports from The Gazette newspaper.

There is no doubt that artificial intelligence or AI has immense potential. In the next few years, it will revolutionize every field of our life, including healthcare. The technology has sent vast waves across the sector, powered by the growing availability of healthcare data and the fast progress of analytic procedures. Due to its power of transforming healthcare, there have been active discussions of whether AI will take the place of physicians/doctors in the future. One thing is for sure that even if AI will not replace physicians/doctors, it can surely help them tackle key issues in the healthcare system.