Exciting news from Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU)! Scientists have developed an artificial intelligence model that can predict if someone with strong glasses might have vision problems in the future. This is a groundbreaking study as it can help prevent blindness.
When people can see things up close but struggle with faraway stuff, it is called high myopia. It is one of the top reasons for permanent blindness globally. However, TMDU researchers have a model that can see into the future and predict who might face long-term vision issues.
The TMDU team studied 967 people in Japan for 3 and 5 years. They looked at different things, like age, how well people could see, and the size of their cornea. After that, they used computer programs to see who might face vision issues in the future.
One computer model, called logistic regression, was the best at predicting vision problems after 5 years. But predicting is only part of the story. It is simultaneously important to explain the results in a way that is easy for people to understand.
The TMDU researchers used a fancy chart (they call it a nomogram) to show how important each thing they studied is for predicting future vision problems. It is like giving points to each part, and when you add them up, you get a score that tells if there is a risk of vision issues.
Losing vision can be tough on both money and health. In 2019, vision problems cost the world a lot, about USD 94.5 billion. Even though the computer program needs more testing, this study suggests that using smart computers program can stop vision issues, making life better for everyone.
