Registries - a largely untapped source for Artificial Intelligence (AI) potential, say Aussie researchers

The use and potential of artificial intelligence (AI) in eyecare is being hampered by a lack of access to quality clinical registry data, according to a team of Australian researchers. 

AI is set to revolutionise the way doctors and patients interact with ophthalmic healthcare, with several published diagnostic AI models already boasting performance on par with eye specialists in the detection of diabetic retinopathy, macular degeneration, and glaucoma. 

However, to be useful in the clinic AI requires large volumes of real patient data to produce good predictions. 

Researchers from the Save Sight Institute, The University of Sydney and Sydney Eye Hospital have written a systematic literature review – Artificial Intelligence and Ophthalmic Clinical Registries which has been published in the latest issue of The American Journal of Ophthalmology. 

They found that most studies included some measure of internal validation, but no papers justified their choice of internal validation methodology and only six conducted any external validation. 

The researchers identified several barriers to rectifying this, including the costs associated with storing large amounts of data, the difficulties in balancing the breadth of data collected and designing incentives to ensure longevity of its collection, and issues involving the strict regulation of clinical registry data and the lack of organisational infrastructure to promote collaborations between medical and machine learning experts. 

Considering these challenges, registries remain a largely untapped source of real-world data,” the report said. 

The researchers hope that these findings will help clinicians understand the current state of AI applied to ophthalmic clinical registries, the opportunities and barriers associated with mobilising registry data, and the need for early involvement of machine learning experts in the development of clinically deployable AI.