From Paper to Clinic, Episode 3: AI in Eye Care: From Diabetic Retinopathy to the Clinic of the Future

Welcome to From Paper to Clinic, a podcast focused on evidence-based eye care and real-world clinical decision-making, hosted by Hamza Shah, OD, MS, FAAO, a faculty member at the University of Houston College of Optometry. His work spans clinical patient care, education, and mentoring, and his clinical interests include ocular disease, dry eye, perioperative care, and—above all—the challenge of translating information into meaningful patient outcomes.

In Episode 3 of From Paper to Clinic, “AI in Eye Care: From Diabetic Retinopathy to the Clinic of the Future,” Michael Twa, OD, PhD, joins the show to discuss artificial intelligence (AI). In the conversation, the pair discusses how AI is reshaping eye care, beginning with its success in retinal image analysis for diabetic retinopathy and expanding to more complex conditions like AMD, where challenges in sensitivity, specificity, and nuanced image interpretation become more pronounced.

They also discuss how AI can primarily serve as a decision-support tool rather than a standalone diagnostician, emphasizing the inevitability of false positives and negatives and the importance of clinician oversight, as well as the rise of chatbots and agentic AI, from tools handling routine post–cataract surgery follow-ups to future systems that could coordinate appointments, labs, referrals, and population-level outcome analysis via EHR-integrated AI.

The paper inspiring this discussion is "A Review of Recent Developments in Artificial Intelligence and Big Data Technologies for Ophthalmology Referrals and Clinical Practice" by Paredes et al, published in Medical Science Monitor.

Do you want to only listen to this episode? Check out the audio player below.

Episode 4 is coming on Monday, June 1, 2026, at 8 AM ET

The fourth episode of From Paper to Clinic will debut in early June and will feature Kaleb Abbott, OD, MS, focusing on the need to change the terminology used around artificial tears. Listeners are invited to join the conversation as the series explores how evidence moves… from paper to clinic.