ATLANTA—What is the future of AI in optometry? That’s the question a panel discussion that included researchers, clinicians, and developers sought to answer at a SECO 2024 keynote session titled, “Putting the Eye in AI: The Future of AI in Optometry.” Panelists discussed how AI in eyecare can be used to predict general health and systemic diseases, as well as ideas and ethical considerations on how to integrate AI into a practice. They also answered questions and addressed attendees' concerns over the rapidly growing technology.

The panel included moderators Carl Spear, OD, MBA, senior vice president of Eye Care at EssilorLuxottica, and Walter Mayo, OD, technology consultant, SECO International, along with panelists Naama Hammel, MD, clinical research scientist at Google, and Jorge Cuadros, OD, Ph.D., director of informatics research, University of California Berkeley and co-founder of EyePACS.

“AI is everywhere and we are at the crossroads in health care,” Spear told the audience. “The question is how do we implement it into our practice? If you think you’re behind in AI, you are, but so is everyone else.”

 
 (L to R) Carl Spear, OD, MBA, EssilorLuxottica senior VP of Eye Care; Naama Hammel, MD, clinical research scientist at Google; Walter Mayo, OD, technology consultant, SECO; and Jorge Cuadros, OD, Ph.D., director of informatics research at University of California Berkeley and founder of EyePACS, addressed a large audience about a hot topic in the SECO keynote session titled, “Putting the Eye in AI: The Future of AI in Optometry.”
  
After running through the basics of AI, the panel shifted its focus to AI in health care and then specifically to how it can be used specifically in eyecare.

“There are many ways AI can be leveraged for use in professional practice,” said Mayo. “AI is not something to be scared of, it’s something to embrace.” Mayo noted that in 2023, there were 36,000 AI tools released to the public.

“We need to bring AI down to the street level,” said Cuadros. He noted that AI in eyecare can be used as a diagnostic assistant, a virtual assistant, to help practices participate in clinical trials, and for disease risk prediction.

Some of the concerns and questions raised by the audience included issues like HIPAA concerns and data security, why can’t AI code and bill exams after they are entered into the EHR, and who is responsible for medical errors that might occur, the provider or the AI used to make the decision?

In closing, the panel offered the audience members some advice as they begin or continue their AI journey in their practices.

“AI is a very powerful tool with benefits and some downsides,” said Hammel. “You should familiarize yourself and apply critical thinking to understand the tools.”

Spear said, “Think big when it comes to AI. Be afraid but run toward the fire, not away from it.”