![[Newsroom] ARVO Alliance for Healthcare From the Eye](https://cakemagazine.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/05/Newsroom-ARVO-Alliance-for-Healthcare-From-the-Eye.png)
AI meets oculomics as a new coalition pushes for scalable, systemic disease screening through the eye.
A new consortium of healthcare leaders announced the formation of the Alliance for Healthcare from the Eye (AHE) at the recent Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) 2025 Annual Meeting in Salt Lake City, Utah.
The cross-sector initiative aims to utilize the eye as a gateway to both ocular and systemic health through artificial intelligence (AI), a field known as oculomics. The consortium brings together health systems, clinicians, industry innovators, life science companies, non-profits, policymakers and payors to drive a shift from reactive to proactive healthcare.
READ MORE: Digital Eye Health at ARVO 2025: From AI Models to Smartphone Clinics
“The eye offers a non-invasive, high-resolution window into the body’s vascular, neurologic and metabolic systems. With advanced ophthalmic diagnostics, AI can help identify early indicators of heart disease, kidney dysfunction, neurodegeneration and other systemic diseases—before symptoms arise,” said Dr. Robert N. Weinreb, distinguished professor and chair of Ophthalmology at the University of California, San Diego (USA) and a founding member of the Alliance, in a news release.
The AHE’s approach, called Healthcare from the Eye, integrates AI-powered analysis of ocular data into coordinated care networks encompassing eye care, primary care and specialty providers. This integration into existing workflows aims to identify high-risk individuals early, enhance care access and enable risk stratification.
A foundational manuscript co-authored by AHE members was published in JAMA Ophthalmology on May 8, 2025, outlining the vision of Healthcare from the Eye and how AI-powered ocular pre-screening supports earlier detection.1
READ MORE: AI Tools in Ophthalmology: From Virtual Scribes to Surgical Planning
“To effectively implement Healthcare from the Eye, a connected platform is needed to improve population health,” said Ali Tafreshi, CEO and president of Topcon Healthcare (New Jersey, USA) and a founding member of the Alliance.
The initiative emphasizes responsible AI, patient care coordination and program sustainability while promoting affordable healthcare access and data access.
READ MORE: ARVO-Genentech Keynote Expounds Ethical Vision for AI in Eye Care
“This is not just about eye care—it’s about unlocking new frontiers in whole-body health,” said Dr. David C. Rhew, global chief medical officer at Microsoft (Washington, USA) and a founding member of the Alliance. “The Alliance is a model for responsible, scalable innovation that starts with increasing access to care for the patient and ends with better health outcomes.”
David Rhew sums up ‘healthcare from the eye’ presentations at ARVO 2025.
The Alliance includes over 30 partner organizations spanning healthcare providers, technology companies, academic institutions and healthcare systems, including Topcon Healthcare, Microsoft, Kaiser Permanente (California, USA), Duke Health (North Carolina, USA), Stanford University School of Medicine (California, USA), and the National Association of Community Health Clinics (Maryland, USA).
Editor’s Note: The annual meeting of The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO 2025) was held from 4-8 May in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States.
Reference
- Weinreb RN, Lee AY, Baxter SL, et al. Application of Artificial Intelligence to Deliver Healthcare From the Eye. JAMA Ophthalmol. 2025 May 8. [Epub ahead of print.]
