Vision
Healthcare starting from the eyes
The nerves and blood vessels in the back of the eye, known formally as the “ocular fundus,” are connected to the entire body, and since the eyes are transparent organs, they can be seen directly.
Therefore, diabetes, hypertension, and other systemic diseases can be detected early by observing the nerves and blood vessels using a “fundus photograph” instead of making an incision in the body with a scalpel.
Focusing on the possibility of such fundus photographs, DeepEyeVision concluded that “imaging diagnosis support AI” is necessary to enable such photographs to be readily utilized in medical examinations in various types of clinical practices. By developing this medical AI, we hope to contribute to improving the quality of systemic disease-related healthcare as well as ophthalmology.
CEO’s
MESSAGE
“The development of medical science
and the compartmentalization of expertise”
Humans are said to obtain 90% of our information through the eyes, and maintaining eye health is critical for living a productive life.
Meanwhile, in the field of ophthalmology, which protects the eyes, it has become almost impossible for ophthalmologists to cover every ocular diagnosis/treatment by themselves due to the rapid development of medical science and the compartmentalization of expertise. Ocular fundus experts are unfamiliar with the ocular surface, and ocular surface experts are unfamiliar with the ocular fundus. Moreover, in specialized medical institutions, many patients who cannot be treated at other institutions gather, which results in long waiting times of many hours.
In addition, medical-use cameras for ophthalmologists, including fundus cameras and OCT, have evolved significantly to realize high-definition images that were unthinkable 10 years ago; however, it has not always been the case that such development has led to improvement in the quality of medical services. It takes an exceedingly long time to carefully observe many high-definition images for each patient. The observer must stay focused because a slight change may lead to significant vision loss. If patients’ waiting times are prolonged, many patients will become impatient and cease coming to the hospital.
Such a situation suggests that medical services have yet to reach a high level.
“Our mission is to reduce blindness
using the power of AI”
In response to the current state of ophthalmic medical services, DeepEyeVision was established to use AI (Artificial Intelligence) to improve the status quo.
In particular, we reduce the excessive burden on ophthalmologists by using diagnosis support AI for ocular fundus images. We support ophthalmologists in conducting their daily medical examinations by identifying abnormal parts in the images and suggesting diagnosis from the unique perspective of AI, which differs from that of humans.
Such support allows ophthalmologists to accurately detect lesions much faster than they can at present and to treat more patients in the time that they save.
As a result, ophthalmologists can provide optimal ophthalmic medical services to all patients, including those who cannot currently receive appropriate medical services.
Even in Japan today, many patients still become blind.
DeepEyeVision’s vision is to minimize the number of such patients using AI.
