Education

UF study: routine eye exam photos can flag Alzheimer’s risk factors years early

University of Florida researchers found that standard retinal photographs, already taken during routine eye exams, can be used to detect risk factors associated with Alzheimer’s disease long before symptoms emerge. An AI model trained on data from more than 40,000 patients identified retinal signals linked to blood pressure, smoking, alcohol use, insomnia, and other risk indicators. The study, published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, was led by UF biomedical engineering professor Ruogu Fang and supported in part by the National Science Foundation.

Sources: UF News