“Originally I thought it was an increase in visual acuity, but when I came to the hospital for screening, I didn’t think it was fundus lesions.” In early December, Mr. Chen, who lives in the city, had surgery at the suggestion of a doctor, and now he can see things more clearly.
Originally, in the physical examination arranged by the company in November, Mr. Chen was found to be suffering from diabetes, followed by the fundus screening at the first hospital in the county and was detected by the AI assistant fundus lesions, after receiving surgical treatment.
“Through the establishment of medical image archiving and communication systems, screening data sharing, uploading and remote image diagnosis have been realized. In September, we introduced artificial intelligence assistant AI diagnosis, which has improved the efficiency and accuracy of screening work.” Lou Qiyang, chief ophthalmologist of the first hospital in the county, told reporters that at the beginning, it is mainly diagnosed by ophthalmologists to read the film, and it takes about 8 minutes to report, and with AI diagnosis, the doctor only needs 1 minute to review, and the work efficiency is greatly improved.
It is understood that the prevalence and blinding rate of diabetic retinopathy are increasing year by year, and it is the first blinding disease in the current population. However, because the “sugar web disease” often has no symptoms in the early stage, once the symptoms appear, the condition is more serious, and it is easy to miss the best treatment opportunity. “Identifying potential patients through fundus screening and intervening at an early stage can reduce the risk of severe blindness in the sugar web by at least 80 percent, which is the heart of this project.” The relevant person in charge of the county health bureau told reporters that due to the scarcity of medical resources, the screening rate is under, and only 5 of the 17 township health centers in the county are equipped with ophthalmologists, and there is also a shortage of basic fundus screening equipment.
In order to solve this problem, the county health department invested nearly 4 million yuan, and equipped 18 townships (streets) in the county with fundus screening equipment. And since April this year, our county has incorporated diabetic retinopathy screening into basic public health services and launched community screening.
The fundus photos are taken by grassroots township health centers and community hospitals and uploaded, and the results are fed back to the patients after AI reading and diagnosis by county-level ophthalmologists. Patients with grade 1 and grade 2 lesions are managed by township health centers, and patients with grade 3 or more lesions are referred to the county eye health guidance Center for treatment, and this innovative medical project is the first of its kind in the city.
“The AI assistant is like one of our eye doctors, who can make a judgment on the disease, and then we can check it, so you have a double audit.” Lou Qiyang introduced that the system also connects with the residents’ health examination platform, and residents can view it at any time through the mobile phone mini program, realize the sharing of screening data, and form various statistical reports to provide a basis for government decision-making. In order to ensure the smooth development of the project, the county health department organized experts to carry out technical training for relevant personnel in the health center, including the consensus of diabetic retinopathy experts, fundus interpretation, referral process, and the use of fundus photography.
Every month, members of the project technical guidance team are dispatched to the screening institutions of township health centers to carry out “point-to-point” training.
Up to now, our county has completed fundus screening 10018 people, found 2615 people with fundus abnormalities, diabetic retinopathy 967 people. Among the patients transferred to the county Eye Health Guidance Center for treatment, 120 cases (70 cases) completed retinal laser photocoagulation, 250 cases completed anti-VEGF treatment (anti-VEGF treatment refers to intravitreal injection of anti-VEGF drugs to inhibit macular edema or macular neovascularization), and 30 cases completed posterior vitreous surgery.
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