AI is saving the world, one eye at a time.
There is a window in the human body that requires no incision, no anaesthesia, and no specialist to access, only a light and a lens. That window is the eye. The retina is the only place in the body where blood vessels and neural tissue can be seen directly and non-invasively, making it a living dashboard of cardiovascular health, metabolic disease, and neurological function. Yet for billions of people across the world, that window remains largely unexamined because the tools to access it never reached them.
“The retina is not just a window to the eye. It is a window to the entire body; to blood pressure, metabolic health, and the vascular system that sustains life."
This article traces five conditions the eye can reveal before they become catastrophic, and explores a device that is beginning to close the gap between where expert eye care exists and where it is most desperately needed.
Five Diseases, One Billion Eyes at Risk.
Vision impairment is one of the most prevalent and undertreated conditions on the planet. The World Health Organization estimates that over 2.2 billion people currently live with some degree of visual impairment, and nearly half of those cases involve a condition that was preventable or is still treatable. The diseases that follow sit at the heart of that burden.
1. Diabetic Retinopathy
Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a progressive microvascular complication of diabetes and a leading cause of preventable blindness among working-age adults. A global meta-analysis places the prevalence of DR among people with diabetes at approximately 22.7%, with roughly one-third of those cases being vision-threatening.
Critically, the disease is entirely asymptomatic in its early stages. Patients lose significant retinal function before noticing any change in their vision. With the global diabetic population projected to reach 700 million by 2045, the burden of DR is expected to rise sharply. Sub-Saharan Africa, where diabetes diagnoses are frequently delayed and follow-up is inconsistent, faces a disproportionate share of this coming wave.
2. Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD)
AMD is the leading cause of blindness in developed countries and the third leading cause of visual impairment globally, accounting for approximately 8–9% of all blindness worldwide. Around 200 million people currently live with AMD, and that figure is projected to rise to 288 million by 2040 as populations age. The macula ( the central region of the retina responsible for sharp, detailed vision), undergoes progressive degeneration, initially causing blurring of central vision and eventually leading to complete loss of central sight. While treatments exist for the wet form of AMD, they are expensive and largely inaccessible across Africa and much of Asia. Early detection through retinal imaging is the most effective lever available to prevent irreversible vision loss.
3. Glaucoma
Glaucoma is the second leading cause of blindness worldwide and, crucially, the leading cause of irreversible blindness. In 2020, approximately 76–80 million people were affected globally, with projections suggesting this figure will exceed 112 million by 2040. Unlike cataracts, the vision loss caused by glaucoma cannot be reversed once the optic nerve is damaged. What makes glaucoma particularly dangerous is that up to 90% of cases in developing countries go undetected until late-stage disease. Sub-Saharan Africa, and Nigeria specifically, carries a disproportionately high burden. Studies show the highest age-standardised rates of glaucoma in the world are found in West African nations. The condition is also four to six times more common in people of African ancestry, and it tends to progress more aggressively and present at younger ages in this population.
4. Hypertensive Retinopathy
Hypertension is the most common non-communicable disease in the world, affecting over 1.28 billion adults. Among those with hypertension, retinopathy is remarkably common, with prevalence estimates ranging from 28.5% to over 83% depending on the severity and duration of hypertension. What is often overlooked is that the retinal vessels are the only blood vessels in the body directly visible to the clinician. Changes in these vessels such as narrowing, haemorrhages, exudates, papilloedema, not only confirm hypertensive end-organ damage to the eye but also serve as a reliable indicator of systemic vascular injury affecting the heart, brain, and kidneys. Timely detection of hypertensive retinopathy can prompt tighter blood pressure management that protects multiple organ systems simultaneously.
5. Pre-eclampsia and Retinal Changes in Pregnancy
Pre-eclampsia, a sudden dangerous rise in blood pressure after 20 weeks of pregnancy, is responsible for approximately 70,000 maternal deaths and 500,000 fetal deaths every year, making it one of the most devastating conditions in obstetrics. Hypertensive disorders affect between 5% and 10% of all pregnancies globally, with hospital-based prevalence in Nigeria estimated at around 17%. The retina reflects the severity of pre-eclampsia with striking fidelity: retinal haemorrhages, arteriolar narrowing, exudates, and even serous retinal detachment can all be detected by fundus examination. Studies show that retinal changes are present in 40–100% of women with severe hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, and that these changes correlate with fetal birth weight, proteinuria, and serum uric acid. Emerging research now suggests retinal vascular changes may even precede the clinical diagnosis of pre-eclampsia, opening the possibility of predictive, non-invasive screening in antenatal care settings.
The History of Fundal Cameras
The story of retinal imaging is one of steady ingenuity, from a small handheld mirror to AI-powered devices that fit in a coat pocket. For well over a century, clinicians and engineers have collaborated to widen the window into the eye, driven by the knowledge that what lies at the back of the retina holds critical diagnostic clues.
The peripheral retina has been an area of profound interest for over a century and advancements in imaging have continuously expanded our ability to see, understand, and treat it.
The Present & Future
Today's fundal cameras are smarter, smaller, and more accessible than ever before. Five main types serve different clinical needs: mydriatic cameras (requiring pupil dilation), non-mydriatic cameras, stereoscopic cameras, scanning laser ophthalmoscopes (SLO), and ultra-widefield cameras. Across all types, AI is rapidly becoming the defining feature.
By attaching compact optical adapters to smartphones and coupling them with deep learning algorithms, modern devices bring the diagnostic power of a specialist clinic to a rural health post, an outreach camp, or the back of a motorcycle. AI analyses retinal images in near real-time, flagging abnormalities within seconds enabling triage without a specialist being physically present.
Some available models are
Remidio Fundus on Phone (FOP)
Optomed Aurora IQ
Optos Ultra-Widefield
Shanggong AutoEye
Topcon & Heidelberg SLO
Non-Mydriatic Cameras
Advantages
Non-mydriatic imaging: High-quality retinal photographs can be captured without pupil dilation, eliminating the need for mydriatic drops, the waiting time they require, and the temporary visual blurring they cause. Dilation remains an option when clinically indicated.
Portability: The device is handheld and smartphone-based, making it functional in any setting a hospital consultation room, a rural outreach tent, or a community health centre with unreliable electricity.
Diagnostic-quality imaging: The FOP NM-10 produces images clinically comparable to those from conventional table-top cameras, validated in peer-reviewed studies and confirmed by regulatory clearance in multiple jurisdictions.
Offline AI integration: The AI modules runs on the devices, enabling automated grading of retinal images for diabetic retinopathy and other conditions without requiring a data connection or specialist review at the point of capture.
Bottom Line
Nigeria carries one of the heaviest burdens of preventable blindness in the world. Glaucoma, in particular, affects West Africans at disproportionately high rates and at younger ages than other populations. Studies from the 2021 Global Burden of Disease analysis identify Nigeria among the countries with the highest age-standardised rates of glaucoma in middle-aged and older adults. Diabetes prevalence is rising rapidly across the country, and with it, the silent epidemic of diabetic retinopathy in a population that often presents late and with limited access to follow-up care. Pre-eclampsia, meanwhile, remains a leading driver of maternal mortality in Nigerian hospitals, with hospital-based prevalence estimated at around 17% , among the highest on the continent.
Against this backdrop, the arrival of affordable, portable, AI-powered retinal imaging technology in Nigeria represents not a luxury, but a clinical necessity.
A tool like the fundal camera won’t solve these problems alone. We also need more skilled birth attendants, better emergency care, more inland screening programmes and stronger health systems. But small, portable, affordable diagnostics in the hands of community health workers are exactly the kind of lever that can start to move a number that hasn't moved in a long time.
References & Further Reading
Teo ZL, et al. (2021). Global Prevalence of Diabetic Retinopathy and Projection of Burden through 2045: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. Ophthalmology. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33940045
International Diabetes Federation. IDF Diabetes Atlas, 10th edition. Global prevalence of diabetes, 2021–2045. https://www.diabetesatlas.org
Wong WL, et al. (2014). Global prevalence of age-related macular degeneration and disease burden projection for 2020 and 2040. Lancet Global Health. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(13)70145-1/fulltext
Bourne R, et al. (2024). Global estimates on the number of people blind or visually impaired by age-related macular degeneration: a meta-analysis from 2000 to 2020. Eye. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41433-024-03050-z
Tham YC, et al. (2014). Global prevalence of glaucoma and projections through 2040. Ophthalmology. https://jogh.org/2024/jogh-14-04252
Glaucoma Research Foundation. (2025). Glaucoma Facts and Stats. https://glaucoma.org/articles/glaucoma-facts-and-stats
Flaxman SR, et al. (2017). Global causes of blindness and distance vision impairment 1990–2020. Lancet Global Health. 5:e1221–34.
StatPearls / NIH Bookshelf. (2025). Hypertensive Retinopathy. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK525980
EyeWiki (AAO). Preeclampsia/Eclampsia Associated Retinopathy. https://eyewiki.org/Preeclampsia/Eclampsia_Associated_Retinopathy
Nabwire G, et al. (2023). Retinopathy among women with hypertensive disorders of pregnancy in Uganda. BMJ Open. PMC10565131. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10565131
Wu C, et al. (2025). Noninvasive early prediction of preeclampsia using retinal vascular features. npj Digital Medicine. PMC12246037. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12246037
Garba F, et al. (2026). Glaucoma detection training of community healthcare workers using portable devices in Nigeria. Frontiers in Public Health. DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1740419.
Remidio Innovative Solutions. (2025). Product information: Fundus on Phone (FOP) NM-10. https://www.remidio.com
Shreyas M, et al. (2024). Enhancing comprehensive diabetic care: A smartphone fundus camera with an offline AI-powered DR screening solution. Int J Diabetes Dev Countries. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13410-024-01393-7
WHO (2023). Hypertension global fact sheet. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/hypertension
GBD 2021 Collaborators. (2025). Global, regional, and national burden of glaucoma. Int Ophthalmol. PMC12668216. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12668216
Preeclampsia Foundation. Global statistics on preeclampsia and maternal mortality. https://www.preeclampsia.org
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