Preventing Vision Loss with Diabetes: Early Detection Just Got Easier

By Lindsay Smithen, MD, Co-Founder and Co-Chief Medical Officer, Network Eye

You may have heard that “diabetes can cause blindness.” But how does diabetes really change your eyesight?

As diabetes progresses, it begins to affect small blood vessels all over the body. The blood vessels in the back of the eye, an area called the retina, are among the smallest in your body. The blood vessels become worn out and damaged by the elevated sugar levels in your blood. When that happens, we say that you have “diabetic retinopathy,” a phrase that means disease of the retina caused by diabetes.

Every diabetic patient should have an eye exam every year to check whether the small blood vessels in their retinas are starting to show the “wear and tear” associated with diabetes.  This is the only way doctors can detect diabetic retinopathy and get you onto a good treatment path if necessary.

In my experience of more than decade as a retina specialist, which is an ophthalmologist who specializes in diseases of the retina, I have noticed that there are many people who do not get the diabetes eye tests or treatment they need. Research suggests that nearly half of the people who need their annual eye test each year don’t get it, and half of the people who need treatment don’t stay on a good care path. This is why diabetic retinopathy is the #1 preventable cause of blindness in working-aged adults in the United States.

But why are people not getting the tests and treatment they need? Patients are busy. A dilated eye exam can feel time consuming. People have jobs, families, medical appointments, and other things they’d rather be doing. And sometimes retina clinics are not located conveniently, or they are intimidating to people who aren’t currently comfortable in the healthcare system.

We started Network Eye – a company dedicated to improving the lives of people who have these critical diseases of the retina – to help people get the care they need in a convenient place. We have built a full retina clinic inside a CVS on Linebaugh Avenue in Westchase, Tampa, Florida, and we have created a mobile trailer in which people can get a diabetes eye test. That trailer travels all over the Tampa Bay area.

We see a huge opportunity to increase the number of people who get their diabetes eye test each year. At Network Eye, we are using a newly created Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology that allows patients to have their diabetes eye test WITHOUT dilating their eyes.  And patients don’t have to wait for a doctor to review their test to receive results.  With our AI-based test, results come back in as little as five minutes. Whatever the outcome, our patients are taking very positive steps to take care of their health.

We are thrilled to partner with JDRF’s North Florida chapter.  We look forward to meeting many of you and learning your stories.

#diabeteseyetest; #diabeticretinopathy; #diabeteseyecare