Some of the biggest companies and names in ophthalmology have thrown their weight behind the new AI in Eye Care (including Indigenous perspectives), a free two-day conference in Broome, WA, taking place immediately after the 2023 RANZCO Congress.
Organised by prominent Australian ophthalmologist and Lions Outback Vision director Professor Angus Turner, the event will run Tuesday 24 and Wednesday 25 October 2023 at the Cable Beach Resort, and feature global experts presenting from the UK, US, India and Australia. Registrations close 10 October.
Renowned UK ophthalmologist Professor Pearse Keane – considered a global leader in ophthalmic artificial intelligence (AI) advances – will headline the conference that will also feature the Centre for Eye Research Australia (CERA)’s deputy director Professor Robyn Guymer and Mr Rory Pigram, part of the Google HealthAI team in California, and Dr Karthik Srinivasan from Aravind Hospital in India, among a host of other expert speakers.
A high-powered list of ophthalmic organisations are also backing the event, including Roche (gold sponsor), Bayer (silver sponsor), Apellis, Topcon, Fred Hollows Foundation and Zeiss (bronze sponsors).
“Registration is free and subsidised accommodation thanks to our sponsors,” Turner said.
“The conference has generated interest from a wide spectrum of the eye health sector and I am looking forward to the workshops to harness this experience and provide some future directions and insights.”
The conference has been made possible with additional support from Australian Capital Equity, Wen Giving Foundation and Cable Beach Resort.
Attendees can expect engaging discussion with Aboriginal healthcare leaders regarding the ethics of AI research.
AI in Eye Care organisers will hold a workshop examining several specific patient contexts in Australia and a roadmap for deploying AI and considering clinical (diagnostic and prognostic tools), operational aspects including patient pathway from booking to discharge, as well as research aspects for evaluation and quality assessment.
Key speakers
Prof Pearse Keane – consultant ophthalmologist at Moorfields Eye Hospital and an associate professor at UCL Institute of Ophthalmology. In 2016, he initiated a formal collaboration between Moorfields Eye Hospital and Google DeepMind, to develop AI algorithms for the earlier detection of retinal disease. In October 2019, he was included on the Evening Standard Progress1000 list of most influential Londoners. In 2020, he was listed on the “The Power List” by The Ophthalmologist magazine.
Prof Robyn Guymer – Centre for Eye Research Australia (CERA)’s deputy Director, head of macular research, and a medical retina specialist running many trials and innovations in home-monitoring space.
Mr Rory Pigram – part of the Google HealthAI team in California since 2018. He focuses on transforming machine learning research into AI-based products that have impact in the real world. The products he manages span across improving detection of eye-related diseases from ocular images, and the detection of active pulmonary tuberculosis from chest radiographs.
Mr Shaun Tatipata – founding director of Australia’s first Aboriginal-owned optical and eyecare provider, the Deadly Vision Centre. The Aboriginal enterprise promotes health and wellbeing, while also celebrating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture and community.
Dr Xavier Hadoux – CERA, Melbourne, and chief technology officer at Enlighten Imaging. He has applied his engineering, physics and data science knowledge to medical device development and detection of novel biomarkers for eye and brain disease.
Dr Karthik Srinivasan – Retinal specialist and Aravind Hospital, Chennai with recent real-world AI engagement and experience University of Michigan.
Mr Peter Larsen – Managing director of Optometrist Warehouse and previous experience at Topcon engaging the frontline for eyecare.
Dr Ashley Kras – Ophthalmologist with broad engagement in digital space. Master of Bioinformatics at Harvard was a platform for interests in the field including interoperability and data transfer systems.
Prof Angus Turner – director of Lions Outback Vision. He will describe the real world use of AI diagnostic applications and augmentation of current collaborative care telehealth.
More information and registration can be found here.
More reading
Bringing telehealth and artificial intelligence into real-world ophthalmology practice
Lions Outback Vision officially opens Kimberley Eye Hub in Broome
AI offers ‘comparable’ advice to ophthalmologists
