Flying Eye Hospitals and Machine Mentoring, with Orbis International
Orbis International has been a pioneer in preventing and treating avoidable blindness for forty years. While much of that work takes plane on its Flying Eye Hospital, the organization also uses advanced technology to bring quality care to individuals worldwide.
Cybersight is the global nonprofit’s telemedicine platform. Through it, the organization offers 24/7 live peer-to-peer consults for specialists worldwide. Over 24,000 eye care practitioners have sought expert opinions through the platform, gaining access to mentorship and advice they wouldn’t have otherwise. Users can also access live surgical demonstrations, courses, and other training: its library is free for all professionals.
Orbis also leverages artificial intelligence to help improve access to eye care. Cybersight consult supports AI-grading of color fundus images attached to consult cases. In seconds, a doctor in a remote region can get an interpretation of an image to aid in diagnosis of diabetic retinopathy, hemorrhages, glaucoma, and other conditions.
These are just two of the many ways Orbis International continues its fight against avoidable blindness. As Hunter Cherwek, MD, vice president of clinical services for Orbis, makes clear: 75% of visual impairment is preventable and 90% of those preventable conditions occur in low- and middle-income countries.
Hosted by Rob Rothman, MD, this episode covers these and other topics:
- How Cybersight democratizes technology-driven eye care.
- Cybersight in practice. Full-stack machine learning engineer Gabriella Lanouette describes how it’s used in the real world and how it lessens the burden for clinicians.
- How Orbis International is developing more globally representative datasets to eliminate geographical and other biases in research.
- Managing a non-governmental organization. Venture partner, consultant, and Orbis UK board of trustees member Sophia Pathai, MD, Ph.D., MPH, discusses how the board balances fiscal and fiduciary responsibilities with the organization’s mission.
- How Orbis fundraises at the corporate level, worldwide.
- How you can get involved. Hint: You don’t have to sit on a plane…
[Listen to the Podcast]