Pakistani-origin British Scientist Professor Riaz Malik has revealed that a short scan of the eyes equipped with artificial intelligence can play an important role in the timely diagnosis of nerve damage caused by dementia and diabetes in the future.
According to him, this scan, which lasts only 2 to 3 minutes, can detect neurological disorders many years before the symptoms of the disease appear. Professor Riaz Malik, affiliated with Weill Cornell Medicine Qatar, said that the nerves in the cornea of the eye are examined through a technology called corneal confocal microscopy. Since the cornea is a nerve-rich part of the human body, it reflects the nerve damage in the body.
He said that initially, this technology was used only for diagnosing eye diseases. However, later research showed that it can also provide early identification of diabetes, Parkinson’s, dementia, multiple sclerosis, schizophrenia, and other neurological diseases.
According to Professor Malik, in 2003, his team proved for the first time that corneal nerves are affected in diabetic patients. After this research, more studies were conducted in this field around the world, and the usefulness of corneal confocal microscopy technology was recognized.
He said that dementia is usually diagnosed when memory impairment is evident in the patient, although nerve damage begins many years before. According to him, corneal confocal microscopy scans can help identify people who have early cognitive impairment and may later develop dementia.
Professor Riaz Malik said that artificial intelligence has significantly increased the capabilities of this technology. ‘Artificial intelligence can identify diseases by analyzing thousands of neurological features in a few seconds, while some studies have shown its accuracy to be 90 to 95 percent.’
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