New Study on AI-Driven Solutions for Diabetic Eye Disease Testing in Underserved Populations Published

Michael D. Abramoff, MD, PhD, founder and executive chairman of Digital Diagnostics, and the creator of the LumineticsCore AI system for diagnosing diabetic retinopathy, has co-authored a study exploring the potential of autonomous AI to enhance healthcare equity. The study, titled "Autonomous Artificial Intelligence for Diabetic Eye Disease Increases Access and Health Equity in Underserved Populations," was conducted in collaboration with experts from Johns Hopkins Medicine and the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Drawing on data collected between 2019 and 2021, the research compared the adherence to annual diabetic eye disease (DED) testing across two groups of Johns Hopkins Medicine patients. One group received testing at facilities that had implemented Digital Diagnostics’ autonomous AI diagnostic tool, LumineticsCore, while the other group’s clinics continued using traditional methods without AI assistance.

According to a Digital Diagnostics news release, the results highlight the potential of AI to improve healthcare access, particularly in underserved populations:

• Clinics equipped with LumineticsCore experienced a 7.6 percentage point greater increase in DED testing adherence than non-AI clinics during the study period.
• Among Black/African American patients, the adherence rate for DED testing increased by 12.2 percentage points in clinics using LumineticsCore, compared to a 0.6 percentage point decrease in non-AI sites.
• The testing gap between Asian American and Black/African American patients narrowed dramatically from 15.6% in 2019 to just 3.5% in 2021 at clinics utilizing LumineticsCore

“One reason that made me create autonomous AI was its potential to address health disparities and improve access equity in care. These findings are encouraging. They suggest that AI could play a vital role in narrowing health disparities and improving care access for those who historically have been the least likely to receive it. Further research will help to confirm our findings and address other questions about autonomous AI in healthcare, Dr. Abramoff said in the news release.

This study marks a significant step forward in exploring how AI can democratize access to crucial healthcare services, especially for historically marginalized populations. With its promising results, LumineticsCore and other AI-driven tools may play a critical role in the future of healthcare delivery.

The full study can be accessed here.