# Handheld retinal camera for AI-based diabetic retinopathy screening

> **NIH NIH R43** · AI OPTICS INC. · 2021 · $299,219

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
The CDC recommends that each of the 34.2 million patients with diabetes in the United States is screened
annually for diabetic retinopathy (DR), a major cause of preventable blindness. Less than 50% of diabetes
patients actually follow these guidelines due to lack of access to medical care and eye specialists, time and
money constraints, and lack of symptoms with early-stage disease.
To address these problems, our team at AI Optics is developing the world’s first artificial intelligence-based
handheld retinal camera to allow for point-of-care DR screening. This device is designed to be portable, easy
to use, and workflow friendly. It performs high-accuracy DR screenings on non-dilated patients, maintaining
optimal security and remaining resilient to connectivity issues. Our goal is that this novel diagnostic device will
expand DR screenings beyond the offices of eye specialists and into primary care, optometry offices, diabetes
clinics, and retail health settings. This increased access to screening will increase early-stage diagnosis rates
and avoid preventable vision loss.
In this Phase I SBIR project, we will develop a retinal camera that complies with ISO 10940:2009 standards,
which will be able to capture high-quality fundus images in a handheld device. To ensure that full-scale image
classification can be conducted, we will also utilize our proprietary, deep-learning artificial intelligence system.
Finally, we will ensure that images captured from our retinal camera can be analyzed by our artificial
intelligence for the presence of DR. The successful completion of this project will result in an improved and
more accessible tool for DR screenings that could lead to earlier DR diagnosis, blindness prevention, and
significant cost savings for millions of people with diabetes.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10324087
- **Project number:** 1R43EY032822-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** AI OPTICS INC.
- **Principal Investigator:** LUKE MORETTI
- **Activity code:** R43 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $299,219
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2021-09-01 → 2022-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10324087

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10324087, Handheld retinal camera for AI-based diabetic retinopathy screening (1R43EY032822-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10324087. Licensed CC0.

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