VIJAYAWADA: The State government has launched a pilot initiative to harness Artificial Intelligence (AI) in detecting diabetic retinopathy, a serious eye complication among diabetes patients.
The programme, announced by Health Minister Y Satya Kumar Yadav, is being rolled out in government hospitals at Guntur, Kurnool, and Visakhapatnam.
Under the scheme, fundus camera images of patients’ eyes will be analysed by AI systems to determine the severity of retinopathy and whether specialist consultation is required. Until now, such a diagnosis depended entirely on the availability of ophthalmologists.
With AI support, trained optometrists can screen patients and flag cases needing urgent medical attention, helping to overcome the shortage of eye specialists.
Diabetic retinopathy affects nearly 20 per cent of diabetes patients, leading to blurred vision, nerve damage, or retinal detachment if untreated. At Guntur Government General Hospital alone, about 3,000 diabetic patients visit monthly, with 15–20 per cent showing signs of retinopathy.
The pilot programme began at Guntur GGH on Wednesday and will extend to Kurnool Regional Hospital on June 13 and Visakhapatnam Regional Eye Hospital on June 16. Over the next three months, around 9,000 patients are expected to be screened across the three centres.
The initiative builds on national efforts led by AIIMS Delhi and AIIMS Rishikesh, in partnership with NGO Wadhwani Foundation, which developed the “Madhunetra” AI solution.
Trained on data from 13,000 patients, the system has already been deployed in 45 medical colleges across states, including Rajasthan, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Uttarakhand, and Bihar.
Officials said the pilot will help assess AI’s effectiveness in early detection and timely treatment of retinopathy. Based on the results, the government plans to expand AI-enabled screening to more hospitals, ensuring that diabetic patients receive preventive care before vision loss becomes irreversible.
