AI Day 2026 - Webinar 4: From screening to population health – why optometrists must lead the next generation of AI research
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Interactive CPD points: 1
Prices from: Free to members; non-members £25 inc. VAT Book or join now to attend this event
Optometry Today (OT), in partnership with the AOP, is pleased to present a day of AI-focused education.
The event features a series of online sessions offering practical insights into the opportunities, limitations and evolving role of artificial intelligence (AI) in optometry.
The programme includes four webinars, each providing one interactive CPD point. Attendees will have the opportunity to learn from leading experts in the field, building confidence and exchanging knowledge with peers. Delegates may attend the full programme or choose individual sessions that best match their clinical interests.
Please note: You will not be eligible for CPD if you dial in to audio only using a phone.
Session 1: Foundations of AI in eye care – from rule-based systems to agentic AI - Book below
Session 2: AI-supported clinical diagnostics - Book below
Session 3: Walking the tightrope of professionalism at the technology frontier - Book below
Session 4: From screening to population health – why optometrists must lead the next generation of AI research - Book now
Webinar: Foundations of AI in eye care – from rule-based systems to agentic AI
This session provides a practical introduction to AI, from rule-based systems through to AI agents, giving delegates the grounding needed to engage with AI tools in eye care competently and safely. Using healthcare case studies, it explores the four types of AI that optometrists are most likely to encounter in practice – traditional machine learning, deep learning, generative AI and agentic AI – and explains the strengths, limitations and appropriate applications of each. The session also introduces a structured framework for prompting AI chatbots to obtain accurate, useful and safe outputs. Designed to build AI literacy and professional judgement, the session does not endorse any specific product or platform.
Learning outcomes
- Practitioners will be able to describe the historical development of AI and distinguish between rule-based systems, traditional machine learning, deep learning, generative AI and agentic AI (s.5)
- Practitioners will identify which type of AI is appropriate for specific optometric tasks and recognise the oversight and limits of competence required before relying on AI outputs in patient care (s.6, s.7)
- Practitioners will identify how to apply a structured prompting framework to obtain accurate and useful outputs from AI chatbots, while maintaining patient confidentiality and data protection when handling clinical information (s.14).
1.30PM - 2.30PM
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1 point
Webinar: From screening to population health – why optometrists must lead the next generation of AI research
CPD ref no: C-116724
Interactive:
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Professor Pearse Keane
Pearse is a consultant ophthalmologist at Moorfields Eye Hospital, professor of artificial medical intelligence at the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology and chief medical advisor of Cascader Ltd, a new medical technology company based in London that is set to transform the detection and management of eye diseases through artificial intelligence.
He is originally from Ireland and received his medical degree from University College Dublin, graduating in 2002. In 2016, he initiated a formal collaboration between Moorfields Eye Hospital and Google DeepMind, with the aim of developing artificial intelligence algorithms for the earlier detection and treatment of retinal disease. In 2018, the first results of this collaboration were published in the journal, Nature Medicine.
In 2020, he jointly led work, again published in Nature Medicine, to develop an early warning system for age-related macular degeneration. In 2019, he was included on the Evening Standard Progress 1000 list of most influential Londoners and in June 2020, he was profiled in The Economist. In 2020, he was listed on the ‘The Power List’ by The Ophthalmologist magazine, a ranking of the top 100 most influential people in the world of ophthalmology.