A formal NHS Scotland partner has welcomed the prospect of eyecare waiting times being cut thanks to new Artificial Intelligence (AI) innovation, calling it ‘a real showcase of homegrown expertise’.
Edinburgh-based Eye to the Future’s clinical software support tools are designed to help optometrists optimise referrals to hospital eye services during a critical period which has seen NHS ophthalmology waiting lists grow by 138% since 2012.
The company’s innovative, collaboration-driven technology – incorporating background technology developed by the University of Edinburgh and University of Dundee – analyses images from routine eye examinations to help identify early signs of conditions like glaucoma and reduce blindness.
It has also commanded widespread interest which has led to strong support – from universities and eye care professionals to Scottish Enterprise, Scottish Edge, Innovate UK and more.
InnoScot Health’s Innovation Manager, Frances Ramsay, believes that Eye to the Future, a culmination of 20 years of collaborative research, represents an important Scottish success story.
She said: “Harnessing the potential of software like this could be a game-changer for both NHS Scotland staff and patients by optimising existing resources and adopting a more efficient approach to tackling backlogs.
“Eye to the Future has benefited from a package of support to transform academic research into commercial technology. This very much mirrors our approach at InnoScot Health – tapping into the vast knowledge and expertise across NHS Scotland, before collaborating further to turn ideas into commercial reality, and importantly, improving patient outcomes.
“It shows how just one individual’s moment of inspiration can lead to a big impact when the knowledge and support of others is drawn upon to catalyse great ideas, echoing our own assistance for pressured ophthalmology through the encouragement of Scotland’s next generation of clinical entrepreneurs.”
Professor Emanuele Trucco, Co-founder of Eye to the Future, said: “Only 24% of NHS eye units currently believe they have enough consultants to meet demand.
“By using sophisticated analytics tools to help optometrists make more accurate referral decisions, we can ensure the right patients get specialist care at the right time, while reducing unnecessary hospital appointments. This is crucial as every delay risks worsening eye conditions and ultimately irreversible sight loss.”
Eye to the Future was named runner-up in the Converge Challenge category of the 2022 Converge Awards, which works in close partnership with universities to encourage academic entrepreneurs.
Through Converge, the company received funding – part of a broader package of support – to help accelerate, what Professor Trucco called, “academic research towards real commercial impact,” while benefitting from “valuable insights into how our technology could make a meaningful difference to patients and clinicians”.
Ramsay continued: “We wish Eye to the Future well as it prepares to launch its product this year, with a pilot currently underway at Glasgow Caledonian University’s School of Optometry.
“This is one of a few exciting new approaches. In tackling glaucoma worldwide, we are seeing an increasing focus on such advancements as genetic testing for risk assessment and novel drug delivery systems.
“While some of these solutions are not available to us yet, we should be setting our sights on laying the groundwork for their eventual implementation now, creating a more resilient health service.”
NHS Scotland ophthalmologists and their patients are increasingly benefitting from innovative thinking and working practices, helping to embed better outcomes and greater efficiency.
In 2023, ophthalmologists based at Raigmore Hospital in Inverness moved into a new, purpose-built National Treatment Centre – Highland (NTC-H) which hosts the entire Eye Care Service for the region and creates additional operating capacity for Ophthalmology Services.
It has three operating theatres for ophthalmology, facilitating high volume cataract surgery and management of ocular conditions, with an emphasis on new imaging technology which allows for greater remote and virtual working.
Such technology can provide surgeons with real-time information through digital connectivity, enhancing precision, and enabling improved collaboration among surgical teams; whilst hybrid operating rooms which utilise CT, MR, or C-arm imaging to perform complex operations supplementary to conventional surgeries, represent a significant opportunity for the future.
Ramsay said: “Nevertheless, as NHS Scotland becomes more technologically driven, the workforce must be considered vital to implementing and overseeing the necessary changes. The introduction of new tech is not always required for NHS ophthalmologists to produce significant improvements.
“Indeed, NHS Tayside’s ophthalmology service was able to double the number of cataract surgical procedures that could be carried out daily thanks to groundbreaking ideation.”
The improvements by the ophthalmology team at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee included the ability to carry out simultaneous bilateral surgery on patients with cataracts in both eyes.
In other words, when a patient has cataracts in both eyes, the team removes both of them during a single appointment rather than removing one cataract and then bringing the patient back for a second appointment to remove the other.
The team also sped up its theatre model by introducing a double nursing team working on a ‘tag team’ basis to support the surgeon, in turn cutting down time in between patients and allowing the completion of between 24 to 32 procedures in a single day.
Collectively, this turned Tayside into the best performing health board in Scotland for cataract surgery.
More innovative solutions are needed to tackle growing pressure on NHS eye care across Scotland with ideas welcomed through InnoScot Health’s ophthalmology innovation call. It offers a package of support for NHS Scotland staff including advice and guidance in areas of intellectual property protection, regulation, funding, project management, and commercialisation.
The organisation has supported and worked with innovators on solutions including Peekaboo Vision, an app created by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, and the iGrading platform, a diabetic retinopathy screening tool developed alongside NHS Grampian and the University of Aberdeen.
