ARVO 2026: AI screening for psychological distress in glaucoma clinics

Samuel Berchuck, PhD, discussed his poster on sequential screening for psychological distress in glaucoma clinics using AI-assisted methods. The project looked at what effects psychological distress could have on the development of glaucoma.

Studies show that over 40% of patients with glaucoma are affected by some sort of psychological distress, which can affect treatment adherence and more.

Berchuck looked at ways that clinics could screen for these psychological distress symptoms in patients without increasing the burden on the clinic.

The study, involving 300 patients, found that AI can accurately identify distress, reducing the need for manual screening to one in four patients. This approach significantly improved positive predictive value by 33% compared to manual screening. The AI model leverages electronic health records to predict distress, considering factors like therapy history and systemic conditions.