Validation of the Utility of a Universal Cataract Intelligence Platform

This study established and validated a universal artificial intelligence (AI) platform for collaborative management of cataracts involving multi-level clinical scenarios and explored an AI-based medical referral pattern to improve collaborative efficiency and resource coverage.The datasets were labeled using a three-step strategy: (1) categorize slit lamp photographs into four separate capture modes; (2) diagnose each photograph as a normal lens, cataract or a postoperative eye; and (3) based on etiology and severity, further classify each diagnosed photograph for a management strategy of referral or follow-up. A deep residual convolutional neural network (CS-ResCNN) was used for the image classification task. Moreover, we integrated the cataract AI agent with a real-world multi-level referral pattern involving self-monitoring at home, primary healthcare, and specialized hospital services.