See illness and disease risks by eye

Identify illnesses and disease risks early by looking into the eye

The number of diabetes diseases has been increasing for years. However, many sufferers often do not know about their illness for a long time. A look into the eye could provide information. Thanks to modern technology, it is possible to detect on the retina, if you have diabetes. Other illnesses and disease risks can be identified as well.

More and more diabetics

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the number of diabetic patients worldwide has been rising massively for years. In Germany, the disease continues to increase. But many patients do not know about their own diabetes disorder. A digital look in the eye could provide certainty. Because this can not only provide information about the age and gender of a person, but also about whether he is suffering from diabetes or at least has an increased risk for it. This could prevent secondary diseases.

A new technology makes it possible to diagnose diabetes on the eye. Other illnesses and disease risks can be recognized as well. (Image: babsi_w / fotolia.com)

Right therapy at the right time

Personalized medicine or "precision medicine" is the most important trend in the medicine of the 21st century, writes the Medical University of Vienna in a recent press release.

"It's about the right therapy for the right patient at the right time," says Ursula Schmidt-Erfurth, Head of the Department of Ophthalmology and Optometry at MedUni Vienna.

Looking into the eye in particular - with the aid of digital methods and the evaluation of big data - also allows a precise view of the overall medical condition of the person, making early diagnosis and therapy possible, but also making him a transparent patient.

Diagnose diabetes on the eye

"The retina provides a window into the vascular and brain state of a human tremendous insight into life-science data of patients," said Schmidt-Erfurth.

In cooperation with the Department of Internal Medicine III and the Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, MedUni Vienna will be able to diagnose diabetes on the eye with the first automatic digital retinal screening, without the help of an ophthalmologist.

Diagnostic imaging on the eye is unique to the entire human body. Based on OCT (optical coherence tomography) technology, 40,000 scans are generated within 1.2 seconds with a total volume of 65 million voxels.

Voxel is composed of the English "volume" and "elements", it is a lattice point in a three-dimensional grid and a total volume of information about the retina of each patient.

Optical coherence tomography data is analyzed using automated algorithms developed on the basis of artificial intelligence.

Both the device and the AIM method are developments of the Medical University of Vienna, especially at the Center for Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering and in the Christian Doppler Laboratory OPTIMA under the direction of Schmidt-Erfurth.

Recognize disease risks on the retina

"The digital view of the retina provides us with enormous amounts of data that provide information about all personal and medical life data," said the expert.

"Not only about current or impending illnesses, but also about the lifestyle."

This shows how old a person is on the retina, gender, smoking behavior, blood pressure and whether someone has diabetes or at least an increased risk of developing it.

"Due to a lack of diagnostic experience and equipment, the internist was not able to spot the eye. Diabetes and high blood pressure are very common diseases and can cause long-term damage to the retina in many patients, "explains Florian Kiefer, internist at the University Department of Internal Medicine III of the MedUni Vienna.

Insight into the health status of a patient

"The introduction of these new technologies into clinical care will enable us to gain much more insight into the health status of our patients, thereby providing not only personalized counseling and patient information, but also tailor-made therapy concepts" the expert.

"This innovative approach represents a further significant step towards improved comprehensive care for the rapidly increasing number of diabetics and diabetics."

In addition, future diseases of internal organs such as the kidneys, but also age-related problems and neurological diseases can be read from the retina.

"For the management of eye diseases, a large amount of digital methods are already in use, always with the aim of improving the standard of eye care," explains Schmidt-Erfurth.

"The digital scan of the retina is another revolutionary step in this direction. But this also opens up a universe of uses far outside of pure medicine. And a fundamental change in the profession of the doctor in the near future. "(Ad)