Mitra Tavakoli
West of England Eye Unit
Oculomics: Redefining Eye Care in Systemic and Neurodegenerative Disease
My presentation is connected to the following theme
Applied research & innovation in Eye Hospitals
5 key short sentences highlighting the essence of my presentation
- The eye offers a unique, non-invasive window into systemic and neurological health
- Advances in ocular imaging now enable earlier detection of neurodegeneration, vascular dysfunction, and systemic disease before overt clinical manifestations
- Oculomics integrates retinal, corneal, vascular, and AI-driven biomarkers to transform diagnosis, monitoring, and precision medicine
- Emerging evidence across diabetes, Fabry disease, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, and other conditions demonstrates the eye’s translational potential beyond ophthalmology
- The future of eye care lies in moving from vision-focused practice to predictive, personalised, whole-body health assessment
Summary
The eye provides a unique, non-invasive window into the health of the nervous and vascular systems, offering unprecedented opportunities for earlier diagnosis, disease monitoring, and precision medicine. This presentation will explore the emerging field of oculomics—the integration of advanced ocular imaging, digital biomarkers, and artificial intelligence to detect and monitor systemic and neurodegenerative disease beyond traditional ophthalmic boundaries.
The talk will highlight how technologies such as optical coherence tomography (OCT), OCT angiography (OCTA), and corneal confocal microscopy (CCM) are transforming our ability to visualise neurodegeneration, microvascular dysfunction, inflammation, and small fibre nerve damage in vivo.
Clinical examples from diabetes, Fabry disease, multiple sclerosis, peripheral neuropathy, and neurodegenerative disorders will demonstrate how ocular biomarkers can support earlier detection, patient stratification, therapeutic monitoring, and translational research.
The presentation will also consider the future role of AI-enabled multimodal biomarker integration and the expanding role of ophthalmology in whole-body health assessment.
As healthcare moves toward predictive and personalised medicine, oculomics has the potential to redefine eye care—not only as a discipline focused on vision, but as a frontline specialty contributing to systemic disease diagnosis, neurological care, and precision health.
The talk will highlight how technologies such as optical coherence tomography (OCT), OCT angiography (OCTA), and corneal confocal microscopy (CCM) are transforming our ability to visualise neurodegeneration, microvascular dysfunction, inflammation, and small fibre nerve damage in vivo.
Clinical examples from diabetes, Fabry disease, multiple sclerosis, peripheral neuropathy, and neurodegenerative disorders will demonstrate how ocular biomarkers can support earlier detection, patient stratification, therapeutic monitoring, and translational research.
The presentation will also consider the future role of AI-enabled multimodal biomarker integration and the expanding role of ophthalmology in whole-body health assessment.
As healthcare moves toward predictive and personalised medicine, oculomics has the potential to redefine eye care—not only as a discipline focused on vision, but as a frontline specialty contributing to systemic disease diagnosis, neurological care, and precision health.