Duke Ophthalmology boasts a rich history of faculty innovation. The close proximity to Duke University fosters seamless cross-collaboration with various departments, centers, and institutes across the campus.
An inaugural project that the Duke Ocular Innovation Hub is funding is focused on growing the AI/data sciences center within Duke Ophthalmology and supporting innovators in this promising, cutting-edge area. A critical foundational component of recent advances in technology is data and data management. Duke Ophthalmology has historically been on the forefront in all areas of ophthalmology research. There is an innovative approach to harness our strengths in developing imaging, AI algorithms/applications, and outcomes and predictive analytics research.
There are also unique opportunities to combine AI and surgery at Duke, changing how we perform surgeries, and positioning Duke Ophthalmology as a leader in this area.
A dedicated team lead by Anthony Kuo, MD, vice chair for technology, and Durga Borkar, MD, director of data science, is focused on Artificial intelligence (AI), a powerful innovation with widespread impact across society. AI has reached ophthalmology, specifically with the recent FDA clearance of AI diagnosis of diabetic retinopathy.
It is important that academic ophthalmology departments have dedicated centers of innovation to harness the power of AI and data science. While Duke Ophthalmology faculty have had individual ad hoc research efforts in AI, there has not been an organizing center to provide a vision and resources to support these innovative efforts.
Borkar and Kuo aim to enhance efforts related to AI and data science.