In 1929, Wilmer’s two identical clinic rooms on the ground floor of what is now the back of General Eye Service featured a darkroom with slit lamps and ophthalmoscopes.  Between the clinics, the visual field room contained three Ferree-Rand perimeters, a stereocampimeter, and an ultraviolet light apparatus.

While slit lamps are still being used at Wilmer to facilitate imaging of the eye, researchers today are exploring and implementing advanced technologies, including artificial intelligence, to understand and treat a variety of diseases and disorders of the eye. At the Wilmer Artificial Intelligence Research Network (NAIRN), researchers are working with the Johns Hopkins Comprehensive Diabetes Center to deploy the IDx automatic diabetic retinopathy screening system in its clinics.

The device uses cloud computing and algorithms to autonomously analyze images of the retina for signs of diabetic retinopathy. Patients who screen positive would be referred to Wilmer for further testing and, if needed, treatment. Johns Hopkins will be one of the first academic hospital systems to implement use of the AI system.

Learn more about current AI projects at the Wilmer Eye Institute.