Artificial intelligence is perhaps one of, if not, the most disruptive technologies of this era. Although it has been practised for over 60 years, AI has really emerged as a practical part of operations across industries in the last decade or so. Healthcare is one such sector where its impact promises to be far-reaching. Of the numerous benefits AI has to offer, enhanced patient safety and greater accessibility are the most obvious ones. A report titled'Artificial Intelligence (AI): Healthcare's new nervous system' by Accenture estimates that health AI market in the US will be worth USD 6.6 billion by 2021, with a staggering CAGR of 40 percent.

According to the World Health Organization, an estimated 285 million people are visually impaired, with 39 million living with blindness and the other 246 million having low vision. In a world of modern technological advancements, visual impairment has been the subject of much medical research. Perhaps the most notable among these are those that use artificial intelligence (AI), specifically through machine learning. Google's DeepMind has been working with the UK's National Health Service to do ophthalmology research. Microsoft has also joined in on the fight to give humanity better eyesight, recently launching the Microsoft Intelligent Network for Eyecare (MINE) in India.

HYDERABAD: To use artificial intelligence (AI) in the field of eyecare, Microsoft India, in collaboration with L V Prasad Eye Institute launched Microsoft Intelligent Network for Eyecare (MINE), on Monday. This is a consortium of different institutions with similar goals who have joined hands to apply artificial intelligence to help eliminate avoidable blindness and scale delivery of eyecare services across the globe. The partner organizations, which include Bascom Palmer from University of Miami, Flaum Eye Institute from University of Rochester, Federal University of Sao Paulo and Brien Holden Vision Institute, will collectively work on diverse datasets of patients across geographies to come up with machine learning predictive models for vision impairment and eye disease. Microsoft will deploy its cloud platform technology Cortana Intelligence Suite for advanced analytics and to build intelligence models on eyecare. "MINE, a global collaboration, reinforces Microsoft's belief in the combined power of data, cloud and advanced analytics to drive public good," said Anil Bhansali, managing director of Microsoft India (R&D).

Microsoft's plan to use machine learning to improve eyecare in India Competition that results in better care for people suffering from visual impairments is the right kind of competition. Following a path similar to that of Google's DeepMind, Microsoft India announced this morning that it's launching a new research group, the Microsoft Intelligent Network for Eyecare, to bring data-driven eyecare services to India. Whereas DeepMind's swing at ophthalmology targeted the UK, Microsoft's ambitions are a considerably more global. The tech company is working alongside researchers from the United States, Brazil, Australia and, of course, India to train machine learning models that can identify conditions that can lead to blindness. Microsoft's key strategic partnership is with the L V Prasad Eye Institute in Hyderabad, India, one of the most prestigious hospitals in the country.

Competition that results in better care for people suffering from visual impairments is the right kind of competition. Following a path similar to that of Google's DeepMind, Microsoft India announced this morning that it's launching a new research group, the Microsoft Intelligent Network for Eyecare, to bring data-driven eyecare services to India. Whereas DeepMind's swing at ophthalmology targeted the UK, Microsoft's ambitions are a considerably more global. The tech company is working alongside researchers from the United States, Brazil, Australia and, of course, India to train machine learning models that can identify conditions that can lead to blindness. Microsoft's key strategic partnership is with the L V Prasad Eye Institute in Hyderabad, India, one of the most prestigious hospitals in the country.