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19 19 19 31 19 65 19 19 49 31 31 19 19 19 19 19 45EyeSITE -The AI-powered project
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Project eyeSITE (Diabetic Eye Screening Interventions with Teleretinal Exams in Primary Care) is an interdepartmental initiative led by Dr. Al-Aswad, in aims of employing AI-enabled image analysis to facilitate early intervention and prevent blindness caused by diabetic retinopathy. The AI fundus cameras were deployed in 20 of Penn Medicine's primary care offices, raising patient screening rates by approximately 65%. The project continues to expand into more of our practices, as provider and patient satisfaction continues to grow.
Graves' Disease Project
fIn collaboration with a team from the University of Pennsylvania School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, we are developing a method to monitor for Graves' Disease, a condition that can cause severe eye complications.
AI Glaucoma progression prediciton project
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With various ongoing projects, the OPTIC Lab and collaborators are working on different components of assessing glaucoma progression. Some published works include visual field progression prediction using diffusion models and conformal risk control and use of archetype analysis and mean deviation in analyzing visual field defects.
IOP Monitoring Project
fIn collaboration with a team from the University of Pennsylvania School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, we are developing a device to accurately track intraocular pressure, an important component in understanding glaucoma as a disease and its effects in daily life.
Tele-Ophthalmology Project
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While her career at Columbia University in 2017, Dr. Lama Al-Aswad launched the tele-ophthalmology project with a mobile unit. With the main aim of detecting the 4 leading causes of blindness—glaucoma, cataracts, macular degeneration, and diabetic retinopathy—she has been looking to catch people in the earliest stages of various eye diseases. The appeal of the mobile unit is that residents can walk up to the van without an appointment, be screened free of charge, and receive an immediate diagnosis. This mobile unit helps bridge some gaps in care, as it has shown promising results in screening a large proportion of patients who had not received an eye examination in two or more years and detecting eye conditions that require an ophthalmologist's care.
Eyebank collaboration Project
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We are working on a project for assessing corneal grafts with AI. OPTIC Lab Innovation Fellow, Almiqdad Saeed, showcased a poster at the American Academy of Ophthalmology 2025. Titled "A Proof-of-Concept Base Model for Automated Corneal Endothelial Cell Analysis via Specular Microscopy Images," the study demonstrates the feasibility of AI to assist in corneal graft evaluation.
DRSplus Workflow Evaluation Project
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The DRSplus was launched in the Penn Presbyterain Emergency Department this week. Led by our resident Alexander Huther (PGY-4), our project aims to assess the efficacy of this camera in the workflow.
Patient Reported Outcomes - Glaucoma Project
fWe have completed a pilot project that examines patient reported outcomes in relation to disease severity in glaucoma patients.
Glaucoma Treatment Cost-Effectiveness Projects
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Dr. Al-Aswad presented about the cost-effectiveness of glaucoma treatment at the American Glaucoma Society 2025 annual meeting. She outlines why physicians must consider cost as part of the treatment algorithm when driving decisions for patients. Watch the full video on Eyetube.
Definition of Glaucoma Projects
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One major challenge is to establish a definition of glaucoma. As the new chair of the Collaborative Community on Ophthalmic Imaging-Glaucoma Imaging Group, Dr. Al-Aswad will be working with experts to address this pressing topic in the glaucoma community.
Innovation Project
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The OPTIC Lab—led by Dr. Lama Al-Aswad, Dr. Almiqdad Saeed, and Rina Nagatani—has been selected for the prestigious Penn Health Tech Bootcamp and Accelerator Program. After months immersed in early-stage medical device development, the team delivered a standout pitch and successfully secured a major grant to advance their work. With support from Penn Health Tech, they now move into prototyping and testing, as Dr. Saeed leads the charge into the next phase of clinical innovation.
Bias of AI in Physician Recommendations
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Waleed Kojan, a medical student at the University of Toledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences, has been collaborating with Dr. Al-Aswad and the OPTIC Lab team on a research project titled "Assessing Glaucoma Specialist Referrals by Chatbots (generative AI)." His abstract was accepted by the American Glaucoma Society 2025 for a poster presentation at the 2025 conference in Washington DC.
BlinkWise
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This device innovation project developed glasses to track blink dynamics and mental states on users in daily life. The novel hardware will unlock diverse use cases such as for drowsiness monitoring, workload assessment, and health management.