AI-powered Neocam device could enhance newborn eye screening

This innovation aims to further improve the accuracy of diagnosing congenital cataracts – the leading cause of avoidable childhood blindness worldwide – when babies are examined in maternity wards shortly after their birth.

A prototype of the Neocam ophthalmic imaging device is currently being evaluated in a multi-centre clinical trial funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) as part of the Digital Imaging versus Ophthalmoscopy (DIvO) study. 

This five-year study aims to determine whether Neocam’s digital imaging technology can improve the detection of congenital cataracts compared with the red-reflex test, a standard ophthalmoscope test that uses a bright visible light.

The test can detect congenital cataracts and retinoblastoma by assessing light reflections from the back of the eye.

Challenges can occur in newborns and babies with darker eyes where pigmentation affects how the reflex appears, leading to misdiagnosis or missed cases.

Dr Louise Allen, consultant paediatric ophthalmologist at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, was frustrated by the number of cataracts being missed at screening or misdiagnosed, which led to her to develop Neocam.