Diabetes is at an all-time high around the world, and the number of people living with the disease is only increasing. Many complications can arise from diabetes, including diabetic retinopathy (DR) and diabetic macular edema (DME)—two of the leading causes of preventable blindness in adults. In India, a shortage of more than 100,000 eye doctors—and the fact that only 6 million out of 72 million people with diabetes are screened for diabetic eye disease—mean that many individuals go undiagnosed and untreated.

Over the last three years, Google and Verily —Alphabet’s life sciences and healthcare arm—have developed a machine learning algorithm to make it easier to screen for disease, as well as expand access to screening for DR and DME. As part of this effort, we’ve conducted a global clinical research program with a focus on India. Today, we’re sharing that the first real world clinical use of the algorithm is underway at the Aravind Eye Hospital in Madurai, India.