This past December, the LV Prasad Eye Institute and Microsoft India launched the Microsoft Intelligence Network for Eyecare (MINE), an international consortium of research institutions aimed at improving eye care worldwide. The University of Rochester Medical Center's Flaum Eye Institute is one of five institutions partnering with Microsoft to share data and apply artificial intelligence to better understand eye diseases and improve eye care delivery around the world.
"The Flaum Eye Institute is proud and excited to be a part of this international network," said Steven E. Feldon, M.D., M.B.A., chair of the Department of Ophthalmology. "The network will offer great opportunities to leverage data science and preventative medicine to improve vision worldwide, which aligns with several elements of University of Rochester and URMC strategic plans."
MINE will allow Flaum Eye Institute researchers to share Electronic Health Record information with partners at LV Prasad Eye Institute (India), Bascom Palmer - University of Miami (USA), Federal University of Sao Paolo (Brazil), and Brien Holden Vision Institute (Australia). Not only will this vastly increase the volume of data at each institution's disposal, but will also add geographic, socioeconomic, and genetic diversity.
In addition to sharing data, MINE will provide each partner institution with access to a trove of Microsoft analytical tools, which utilize machine learning to determine patterns and predict outcomes in eye care.
"A lot of institutions don't have access to these Microsoft tools," said Rajeev S. Ramchandran, M.D., M.B.A., associate professor of Ophthalmology at URMC. "This helps democratize or level the playing field - not only sharing data, but also sharing the tools to analyze it."