AI to Transform Retinal Disease Management, Discussed at FLORetina 2025
The Inherited Retinal Disease (IRD) community is keenly watching advancements in technology that promise to revolutionize diagnosis, monitoring, and treatment. A key area of focus is Artificial Intelligence (AI), which took center stage at the FLORetina 2025 conference in Florence, Italy, held from December 4 to 7, 2025.
During the conference, prominent experts Professor Marion R. Munk and Professor Quan Dong Nguyen, both founding members of the Society for Artificial Intelligence in Vision and Ophthalmology (SAIVO), led discussions on the practical applications of AI in retinal care. Their presentations highlighted how AI is rapidly moving from experimental use to real-world deployment, creating an integrated ecosystem across various aspects of eye care, including screening, diagnosis, monitoring, research, and even surgery.
Professor Munk, a specialist in ophthalmology with extensive research interests in AI and image analysis, has been a pioneer in integrating AI into retinal disease management, notably utilizing the RetinAI Discovery® platform in her clinical practice and trials. Professor Nguyen, a distinguished ophthalmologist and retina specialist at Stanford University, is recognized for his work in clinical trials for retinal vascular and uveitic diseases, and his involvement in evaluating AI's diagnostic capabilities.
SAIVO's mission, as presented at FLORetina 2025, is to ensure that AI in eye care is scientifically robust, clinically meaningful, and implemented ethically and equitably for patients globally. The society envisions AI as an integral component that extends, rather than replaces, the expertise of ophthalmologists, including retina specialists.
For patients and families affected by IRDs, the integration of AI holds significant promise. AI algorithms can enhance global screening programs by pre-screening large volumes of images, identifying high-risk cases, and standardizing grading, allowing human experts to concentrate on complex cases and personalized treatment plans. This could lead to earlier and more accurate diagnoses, more precise monitoring of disease progression, and potentially more tailored treatment strategies. The conference also featured discussions on AI-powered patient communication and automated triage, illustrating how these tools can be integrated into teleophthalmology workflows.
The FLORetina 2025 meeting also touched upon other crucial topics for the IRD community, including long-term follow-up in pediatric gene therapy and updates on therapies for Stargardt disease. The discussions around AI, however, underscore a future where technology will play an increasingly vital role in improving the lives of those with inherited retinal conditions, offering new avenues for understanding and managing these complex diseases.
Looking ahead, the continued development and ethical implementation of AI in ophthalmology are expected to bring about transformative changes, offering new hope for enhanced care and improved outcomes for individuals with inherited retinal diseases.