Retinal image-based artificial intelligence in detecting and predicting kidney diseases: Current advances and future perspectives

Artificial intelligence (AI) has reformed the healthcare system with its compelling capabilities of processing biomedical data for disease diagnosis, prediction, and individualized management. The eye, as a non-invasive observation window for many systemic diseases, can be used to detect the signs of chronic kidney diseases, and other diseases like hypertension and type 2 diabetes mellitus, based on specific manifestations of retinal images. Recent advances using AI technology have posed a great potential of using retinal images for rapid mass screening and prognosis prediction of kidney diseases. Herein, we outlined the key applications of AI in ophthalmology and the detection of systemic diseases based on retinal imaging, especially the current progress of retinal image-based AI models for the detection and prediction of kidney diseases. We hope to shed light on the current opportunities and future challenges in this field to provide suggestions for further improvement and applications.