A review of artificial intelligence applications in anterior segment ocular diseases

Background: Artificial intelligence (AI) has great potential for interpreting and analyzing images and processing large amounts of data. There is a growing interest in investigating the applications of AI in anterior segment ocular diseases. This narrative review aims to assess the use of different AI-based algorithms for diagnosing and managing anterior segment entities. Methods: We reviewed the applications of different AI-based algorithms in the diagnosis and management of anterior segment entities, including keratoconus, corneal dystrophy, corneal grafts, corneal transplantation, refractive surgery, pterygium, infectious keratitis, cataracts, and disorders of the corneal nerves, conjunctiva, tear film, anterior chamber angle, and iris. The English-language databases PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, and Google Scholar were searched using the following keywords: artificial intelligence, deep learning, machine learning, neural network, anterior eye segment diseases, corneal disease, keratoconus, dry eye, refractive surgery, pterygium, infectious keratitis, anterior chamber, and cataract. Relevant articles were compared based on the use of AI models in the diagnosis and treatment of anterior segment diseases. Furthermore, we prepared a summary of the diagnostic performance of the AI-based methods for anterior segment ocular entities. Results: Various AI methods based on deep and machine learning can analyze data obtained from corneal imaging modalities with acceptable diagnostic performance. Currently, complicated and time-consuming manual methods are available for diagnosing and treating eye diseases. However, AI methods could save time and prevent vision impairment in eyes with anterior segment diseases. Because many anterior segment diseases can cause irreversible complications and even vision loss, sufficient confidence in the results obtained from the designed model is crucial for decision-making by experts. Conclusions: AI-based models could be used as surrogates for analyzing manual data with improveddiagnostic performance. These methods could be reliable tools for diagnosing and managing anterior segmentocular diseases in the near future in remote areas. It is expected that future studies can design algorithms thatuse less data in a multitasking manner for the detection and management of anterior segment diseases.