How 35 million eye scans and a new AI foundation model may redefine the future of precision medicine
Key Takeaways
- World’s largest ophthalmic imaging dataset meets machine learning innovation: insitro and INSIGHT at Moorfields Eye Hospital team up to build a powerful AI foundation model for neurodegenerative disease insights
- Precision medicine leap: OCT-based biomarkers aim to detect dementia risk earlier and enable genetically-driven drug discovery and patient stratification
- Data ethics and global impact: This UK-US collaboration prioritizes secure, ethical use of NHS patient data, setting a gold standard for international AI health partnerships
A New Vision for Brain Disease: AI-Powered Drug Discovery Begins with the Eye
In a landmark partnership, insitro, a machine learning-based drug discovery company, and INSIGHT at Moorfields Eye Hospital, home to the world’s largest ophthalmic imaging database, have joined forces to develop a novel AI foundation model. With over 35 million eye scans, including decades of Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) data linked to clinical outcomes, the collaboration aims to unearth early signs of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and dementia well before symptoms appear.
This model, leveraging deep learning and genetic insights, is poised to revolutionize how neurodegenerative drug targets are identified, offering earlier interventions and more accurate patient segmentation.
From Eye Scans to Genetic Targets: A Precision Medicine Engine
The model will feed directly into insitro’s neuroscience pipeline, identifying OCT imaging signatures correlated with dementia onset and progression. These findings will be cross-validated with genomic data from global research cohorts, significantly accelerating insitro’s ability to pinpoint actionable targets supported by human biology.
By fine-tuning on smaller disease-specific datasets, the AI foundation model becomes a powerful lens for targeted drug development, bridging phenotypic data with genetic biomarkers to increase therapeutic success rates.
NHS Data, Global Potential: Trust, Ethics and Scale
The UK’s National Health Service (NHS) offers unmatched population-scale imaging data—an asset made available ethically and securely through INSIGHT’s research infrastructure. This collaboration marks the first of its kind for INSIGHT at Moorfields, reflecting a strong commitment to safe, privacy-preserving AI innovation in healthcare.
Only researchers within Moorfields will access the data in secure environments, ensuring compliance while unlocking transformative research potential across neurological, ophthalmic and metabolic diseases.
Oculomics: Seeing Beyond the Eye to Predict Systemic Disease
This project also propels the emerging field of Oculomics, which positions the eye as a diagnostic gateway to systemic health. By decoding subtle retinal changes through high-resolution OCT and machine learning, researchers can gain predictive insights into conditions ranging from cardiovascular disease to neurodegeneration.
The initiative combines cutting-edge AI with world-class imaging, laying the foundation for scalable diagnostic tools and biomarker discovery that extend beyond eye health—redefining how diseases are detected, monitored and treated.
About the Organizations
insitro
insitro is a next-generation drug discovery company that integrates machine learning, genomics and human data to build AI-powered pipelines in neuroscience and metabolic diseases. With over $700 million raised, insitro pioneers a platform-driven approach to increase the probability of success in clinical development.
Website: https://insitro.com
Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Moorfields is a global leader in eye care and research, serving patients across 23 UK locations. With a legacy of ophthalmic excellence, it partners with UCL Institute of Ophthalmology and leads the INSIGHT data research hub.
INSIGHT Health Data Research Hub at Moorfields
INSIGHT is the world’s largest ophthalmic imaging bioresource. Through secure, anonymized patient data access, it empowers AI-driven research in ocular and systemic diseases. INSIGHT is a pioneer in the field of Oculomics.
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