Advice

Summary

Summary

  • The technologies described in this briefing are EyeArt, RetinaLyze and Retmarker. They are used to detect diabetic retinopathy.

  • The innovative aspect is that these technologies automate manual imaging grading.

  • The intended place in therapy would be in addition to standard methods of detecting and grading diabetic retinopathy in people with diabetes. The UK National Screening Committee (UKNSC) noted this briefing should not be seen as a recommendation for use in diabetic eye screening programmes.

  • The main points from the evidence summarised in this briefing are from 7 observational (retrospective and prospective) studies, including retinal images from 199,135 people with diabetes. They show that artificial intelligence (AI) technologies could be used to reduce the staff needed to identify and grade diabetic retinopathy in people with diabetes.

  • Key uncertainties around the evidence are that the technologies have different levels of evidence without any randomised controlled trials to compare them, and it is not clear which technologies would integrate into the NHS best. EyeArt has more UK-relevant cost and clinical evidence.

  • The mean cost per patient for RetinaLyze is £0.35 to £1.73 and for Retmarker it is £0.86 to £3.02 (both depend on the subscription level). The UK cost for EyeArt is not known; the US Medicare reimbursement for EyeArt is up to £39.93 per patient. Manual screening costs £4.79 per patient, and the overall cost of standard care is £9.92 per patient.