Patients whose eye scans were read by an AI programme got results in 30 seconds, compared to facing an average waiting time of 23 days for results from a doctor, a study in Tanzania has shown.

Millions of people around the world have diabetic retinopathy, a condition where high blood sugar levels damage the tiny blood vessels in the retina.

It can lead to irreversible blindness if left untreated. Around a third of the 23 million people with diabetes in Africa have the complication.

In its early stages, diabetic retinopathy can have no symptoms, and the World Health Organization recommends that people living with diabetes undergo regular screening to check their eye health, so that they can be treated if necessary.

For the new study, published in the Lancet Global Health , researchers randomly assigned over 2,000 patients with diabetes visiting clinics in Tanzania’s Kilimanjaro and Arusha regions to either receive usual screening care, or to have a new type of AI-assisted screening.

Two fifths of the…