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Artificial Intelligence for Clinical Decision-Making in Retinal Disorders: From Screening and Diagnosis to Treatment
Kai Jin1, Kaikai Zhao1, Rupesh Agrawal2
1Eye Center of the Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China; Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology; Zhejiang Provincial Clinical Research Center for Eye Diseases; Zhejiang Provincial Engineering Institute on Eye Diseases, Hangzhou, China.
Abstract:
Artificial intelligence (AI) in retinal imaging has expanded from image classification to multimodal interpretation, longitudinal prediction, and clinically oriented decision support. This narrative review focuses on four complementary clinical settings: diabetic retinopathy (DR) screening and referral, diabetic macular edema (DME) treatment assessment, neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) retreatment and longitudinal monitoring, and inherited retinal disease (IRD) diagnosis, genotype-phenotype support, progression modeling, and trial enrichment. We organize the evidence around disease-specific decision points, relevant data modalities, and the requirements for multimodal and longitudinal integration. Evidence is strongest for DR screening, supported by prospective and real-world validation, whereas treatment-oriented applications in DME and nAMD and multimodal diagnostic or prognostic applications in IRDs remain less consistently validated. We highlight the gap between model performance and clinical utility and propose a cautious translational roadmap emphasizing external validation, calibration, uncertainty handling, workflow integration, prospective evaluation, and accountable deployment.