Hospital Universitario Infanta Leonor develops AI to detect silent arterial disease

The Hospital Universitario Infanta Leonor in Madrid has released results from ‘Aitheroscope’, a project utilizing artificial intelligence to identify subclinical atherosclerosis through retinal imaging. This condition involves the silent accumulation of fat and plaque in artery walls, which can progress for years without symptoms before causing heart attacks or strokes.

Developed in collaboration with Horus ML, the technology analyzes fundus images of the eye to detect patterns in retinal vessels that are not visible to the human eye. Dr. Juan Torres Macho, head of Internal Medicine at the hospital, noted that the eye serves as a direct and non-invasive window to analyze the state of the body's vessels. The AI-driven approach aims to increase precision in detecting vascular issues before cardiovascular disease fully develops.