Academic CentreProject name: "Integrated model for personalized diabetic retinopathy screening and monitoring using risk-stratification and automated AI-based fundus image analysis – PerDiRe"
Project ID number: EEA-RESEARCH-60
Project contract number: EEZ/BPP/VIAA/2021/8
Implementation period: 01.05.2021–30.04.2024
Total funding: EUR 1 000 000
Project aim
The aim of the project is to implement a new personalized diabetic retinopathy screening and monitoring programme using artificial intelligence (AI) for future applications in the care of patients with diabetes.
Project main task
The main task of the project is development of the personalized approach for the screening and monitoring of the eye complications of diabetes mellitus. This approach would allow to determine the personalized screening interval for each patient. The activities of the project will include ophthalmological examination of patients with diabetes, collection of data on the risk factors of diabetic retinopathy, automated grading of diabetic retinopathy with the use of artificial intelligence, application of machine learning methods for determination of the risk factors for diabetic retinopathy and the optimal screening interval, evaluation of the cost-efficacy of the new diabetic retinopathy monitoring programme.
Importance of the project
The project will develop and pilot the new personalized screening and monitoring approach in diabetic retinopathy care. We suggest to shift from the rigid "one-size-fits-all" approach for determination of the screening interval for patients with diabetes. Instead, we will determine the risk of progression of diabetic retinopathy using analysis of wide variety of risk factors and fundus images using artificial intelligence. We will assess the cost-effectiveness of this new system and present it to the healthcare authorities. The project will allow for capacity building of young researchers, including elaboration of PhD thesis. In addition, it will provide a platform for further scientific collaborations. The activities of the project will foster the development of the integrated care of patients with diabetes and e-health directly and through knowledge transfer.
Cooperation
Project promoter – University of Latvia. Project partners: University of Oslo, University of Tartu and Lithuanian University of Health Sciences.
All project partners will participate in data collection for the project.
In addition, the project promoter University of Latvia will coordinate implementation of the project, dissemination and communication of the results.
The donor partner of the project, Centre for Eye Research of the University of Oslo, will help other partners to implement innovative approaches in the care and research of the diabetic eye disease, which are already practiced in Norway.
Lithuanian University of Health Sciences will participate with their competences in artificial intelligence methods application in medicine and will work on development of the AI-based screening and monitoring algorithms together with the University of Latvia and University of Oslo.
University of Tartu will provide the cost efficiency analysis of the new diabetic retinopathy screening and monitoring programme.