Eye-screening trial for diabetics

Eye-screening technology developed by CSIRO will allow diabetics to have their eyes tested by a GP, removing unnecessary referrals to a specialist.

Announced as part of World Diabetes Day on Monday, the eye-screening trial aims to tackle the number of people suffering from diabetic retinopathy (DR) — a condition which often leads to blindness but can usually be avoided by having regular eye checks. It will be held in Perth’s GP Superclinic @ Midland Railway Workshops, making this the first time that GP-led DR screening has taken place from a metro area anywhere in the world.

During the trial, GPs will use CSIRO’s Remote-I technology to capture high-resolution images of a patient’s retina, before uploading them to a cloud-based system where they can be viewed by a specialist. CSIRO scientists will also process the retinal images using the organisation’s Dr.Grader software to grade the images for DR and alert the GP to patients who need referrals.

“We are delighted to partner with the CSIRO in trialling this new innovative technology,” said Dr Amitha Preetham, director at GP Superclinic @ Midland Railway Workshops.

“This tool provides a valuable adjunct in the delivery of our comprehensive one-stop diabetes services that already exist on-site, which includes GPs upskilled in diabetes working alongside other specialists and allied health services to provide patient-centred health care.”

The trial will image 200 diabetes patients in six months, looking for DR as the main focus disease. Trial leader Yogi Kanagasingam said the program is “the first step in developing a DR screening system that will help GPs prioritise patients for treatment and surgery to prevent disease complications”.

“If we can pick up early changes and provide the appropriate intervention, we can prevent blindness,” Kanagasingam said.

Pictured: A Remote-I image of a retina.