AI Assistant for Eye Disease Analysis Debuts in Russia

Russian startup Digital Vision Solutions has developed the country’s first AI-powered medical assistant for analyzing eye pathologies. The ophthalmology platform Retina.AI is already helping doctors in clinics and federal medical centers make diagnoses, according to business magazine Monocle.

Detecting Disease Earlier

The platform was initially designed to analyze fundus images in patients with diabetes, but it can now detect a broader range of eye conditions. Doctors using Retina.AI say the system reduces misinterpretation of retinal images, enabling earlier detection of eye diseases.

AI is increasingly used in Russian healthcare to identify various conditions, but ophthalmology-specific algorithms had not previously been developed domestically. Digital Vision Solutions, an innovative IT company and Skolkovo resident, began training its model on retinal images in 2021, resulting in the Retina.AI application, which was deployed in clinics last year.

Diagnosis Remains With the Doctor

The company has developed what it describes as the world’s first application to implement multimodal diagnostics, combining fundus imaging with optical coherence tomography (OCT) scans. OCT provides layered images of the retina, enabling precise diagnosis, identification of disease stage, and selection of treatment strategies.

Retina.AI is available both as a cloud-based service and a desktop application installed on medical facility computers. Users upload fundus photographs or OCT scans, after which the system analyzes the images, highlights signs of disease, and generates a report for the doctor within seconds.

The final diagnosis is made by the physician. In addition to clinical reports, the system can generate patient-friendly summaries explaining retinal health in accessible terms.

Earlier reports noted that researchers in Samara have developed methods to detect brain injuries through eye movement analysis.