Updated Oct. 25, 2016
Understanding ophthalmology’s future is vital for physicians both young and old. In a Ted-talk style symposium at AAO 2016 in Chicago, we convened young innovators to talk about four new horizons in the ophthalmology. Here are the highlights of “Ophthalmology Talks: Four Revolutionary Ideas That Will Change the Future for Young Ophthalmologists.”
The eye exam of the future
We looked at the future role of a patient-operated, whole-eye optical coherence tomography and how it could replace major portions of our current eye examination. Dr. Patel noted that the increasing demand for eye care, coupled with the need for data-driven outcomes, will necessitate a more standardized, efficient, quantitative and cost-effective replacement for our current eye exam.
One device that performs multiple functions and is patient-operated could reduce labor costs significantly and decrease the patient work-up time. In addition, whole-eye OCT could produce quantifiable outputs to make more accurate comparisons between visits and providers. This data could then be stored in the cloud and integrated with electronic health records and registries.
Automation is the future of the eye exam. The whole-eye OCT is currently underdevelopment by Envision diagnostics.
Using artificial intelligence in ophthalmology
Stanford University Medical Center’s Robert Chang, MD, blew the minds of the audience with his discussion of applying artificial intelligence to create computer-based clinical algorithms for diagnosing, detecting and following disease. Dr. Chang reviewed the spectrum of ways AI is already active in our lives, from learning our web-search habits to besting contestants in the trivia game show Jeopardy.
He also discussed surprising ways computers have been able to exceed lofty expectations for learning patterns, often surpassing human ability. In the case of Google’s AlphaGo, it bested a grand master in the ancient Chinese board game GO.
In ophthlamology, AI is already being employed in algorithms to detect diabetic retinopathy. Dr. Chang also predicted that computer-based learning will be able to identify physician practice patterns, opening the door to computer-assisted clinical decision making.
Why all ophthalmologists should be feminists
Young ophthalmologists will practice in a far more diverse workplace than the last generation of their colleagues. In this timely talk, Leslie S. Jones, MD, program director and interim ophthalmology department chair at Howard University, delivered a thought-provoking talk on the importance of gender in the family of ophthalmology.
She reviewed the historical role Howard University had in supporting and training female physicians, standing up to trends driving women out of medicine. She also argued there is often unappreciated value that comes from a diverse workforce.
Editor's note: The International Council of Ophthalmology also discussed diversity in ophthalmology during its Oct. 15 World Ophthalmology Roundtable on Leadership Development.
Tackling the impossible
In the final talk, Geoffrey C. Tabin, MD, a professor of ophthalmology and visual sciences at the John A. Moran Eye Center, challenged young ophthalmologists to tackle their own impossible dreams one step at a time.
Throughout his career as a mountaineer, humanitarian, and physician, Dr. Tabin said he's faced many who focused on what could not be done and what was “impossible” to accomplish. He spoke about leaving medical school to summit Mount Everest and study high-altitude retinopathy. He also recounted efforts with Sanduk Ruit, MD, of the Tilganga Eye Institute in Kathmandu Nepal to develop eye care delivery systems that have helped Nepal reverse the trend of curable blindness.
Dr. Tabin noted that the limits we place on ourselves are often the only limits to accomplishing great things. He challenged young ophthalmologists to tackle their impossible dreams by taking the first step: “Don’t ration your passion!”