As the Emory Eye Center closes out 2021, we are proud to announce that, for the first time in the University's history, two faculty (both from EEC!) were tapped to co-present the prestigious John F. Morgan Distinguished Faculty lecture. Nancy J. Newman, MD and Valérie Biousse, MD, shared the honor, one of the most coveted bestowed by the University.
Newman and Biousse's talk, The Eye as a Window to the Brain: From Candlelight to Artificial Intelligence gave a fascinating history of their joint interest in reintroducing the ocular fundus examination - currently an infrequently performed practice conducted by non-ophthalmic physicians - into an effective tool of mainstream medicine.
For more than 150 years, physicians have known that the appearance of the ocular fundus is a window into the neurologic and systemic health of human beings. However, the direct ophthalmoscope is poorly and rarely used in modern clinical care by non-eyecare professionals. Newman and Biousse's work has taken advantage of cutting-edge technological advances in digital cameras (capable of taking pictures of the back of the eye without pupillary dilation), and artificial intelligence deep learning systems that can interpret those photographs. As a result, they have been able to champion the importance of examining the ocular fundus without the attendant difficulty of using an ophthalmoscope.
Their work, recently published in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine, illustrates how vision- and life-threatening conditions such as papilledema (swelling of the optic nerves from elevated intracranial pressure) can be reliably detected through use of these technologies. Their work has benefited from rich collaborations with Emory's departments of Ophthalmology and Emergency Medicine, the Singapore Health team of scientists and engineers, and a world-wide consortium of neuro-ophthalmologists.
"Our work is ongoing," added Biousse. "We are confident that it will produce important publications in the near future and that it will have a direct impact on patient care as well."
A world-renowned lecturer and researcher, Valerie Biousse serves as a professor of ophthalmology and neurology at the Emory University School of Medicine, where she holds the Reunette Harris Chair of Ophthalmology. Her research interests include idiopathic intracranial hypertension, non-mydriatic fundus photography for the diagnosis of neuro ophthalmic disease, diagnostic errors and referral patterns in neuro-ophthalmology, and ocular manifestations of cerebrovascular diseases.
The director of Emory Eye Center's neuro-ophthalmology section, Nancy J. Newman is a professor of ophthalmology and neurology at the Emory University School of Medicine, where she holds the LeoDelle Jolley Chair. Her main research interests include disorders of the optic nerve and mitochondrial disorders.
-Kathleen E. Moore