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Imagine a world where AI can detect serious eye disease in just 60 seconds—not in a specialist's office after months of waiting, but right at your primary care visit. That's the reality Digital Diagnostics has created with their groundbreaking autonomous AI system for diabetic retinopathy detection.
In this eye-opening conversation, Mark Daly reveals how their FDA-cleared technology is transforming diabetes care by addressing a critical healthcare bottleneck. "There's a huge lack of access to care because there just aren't enough ophthalmologists," he explains. Their solution? Bringing specialist-level diagnostic capability directly to primary care settings where patients already receive regular care.
What makes this approach remarkable isn't just the technology—it's the immediate impact on patient outcomes. When patients receive their diagnostic results within a minute of their scan, something remarkable happens: they follow through on treatment recommendations at significantly higher rates. Some even begin addressing their underlying diabetes management. This immediate feedback creates a powerful moment for engagement that traditional weeks-long referral processes simply cannot match.
The conversation explores Digital Diagnostics' ethical framework for AI development—what they call "AI the right way"—which considers fairness and equity from data collection through post-market surveillance. Mark shares fascinating insights about their global deployment challenges, future applications beyond eye disease, and how they successfully navigated the complex landscapes of FDA clearance and insurance reimbursement.
Perhaps most compelling is their vision for AI's role in healthcare: not replacing physicians, but freeing them to focus on what matters most. "Our goal is to help doctors spend more time with patients, not less," Mark emphasizes. "The real value for the ophthalmologist is to sit there with the patient, talk to them, look at their eye, and explain what's going to happen—not sitting in the back office looking at a computer screen."
Want to learn more about how AI is transforming healthcare access? Visit digitaldiagnostics.com or connect with them on LinkedIn to follow their journey.

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