New research has revealed that using artificial intelligence (AI) to analyse photos taken during routine diabetes eye screenings can predict whether people with type 2 diabetes are likely to develop kidney disease, years before symptoms appear or current tests can detect problems.
This could allow people at risk to get the right care and treatments earlier, helping to slow or prevent kidney damage.
Around one in three people living with diabetes develop kidney damage during their lifetime. Kidney disease can progress silently for many years before being detected.
In a new study, presented at our Diabetes UK Professional Conference 2025, researchers explored whether AI analysis of eye screening photos could help act as an early warning system to identify those who are likely to develop kidney disease in future.
The team, led by Dr Alexander Doney at the University of Dundee, developed the AI tool using nearly 1 million eye screening photos from almost 100,000 people with type 2 diabetes in Scotland.
They linked the photos with data on people’s kidney health and trained the AI tool to distinguish between images from people with or without kidney disease. They then checked if the tool worked with data from almost 30,000 other people with type 2 diabetes.
A window into kidney health
Results showed that the AI tool detected people with existing kidney disease with 86% accuracy. In people without kidney disease, it was also able to predict who would go on to develop it in the next five years with 78% accuracy.
Critically, the AI outperformed traditional kidney function tests, detecting future kidney disease risk in individuals where standard testing provided no warning.
The researchers hope that using AI to unlock hidden clues within eye screening images could transform how kidney disease is detected. By spotting those at-risk years before symptoms or current tests, the new tool could allow for earlier interventions that could in future help millions avoid its devastating effects.
Dr Alex Doney, who led the study, said:
“The retina at the back of the eye is the only place where the fragile network of blood vessels, critical to the health of all organs throughout the body, can be conveniently visualised and photographed.
"AIs can be trained to “see” very early features and patterns within these photographs that humans are unable to. These can indicate declining health in other organs, such as the kidney in this case, before conventional clinical tests are informative. This provides doctors with an additional earlier opportunity to act on this information before permanent kidney damage has occurred.”
Dr Elizabeth Robertson, Director of Research and Clinical at Diabetes UK, said:
“Kidney damage often progresses silently until it becomes severe, and early detection is critical. This fascinating research has offered a new window into kidney health – through the eyes.
“By revealing intricate patterns in images taken during eye screenings, this AI tool could in future alert healthcare professionals to early signs of kidney damage. This would offer a vital opportunity to provide tailored support to slow or halt the progression of kidney disease that could ultimately save lives.
“Through harnessing the power of AI, this approach could transform routine diabetic eye screening into a versatile tool for predicting and preventing other diabetes-related complications.”
We’re also funding research to find out if eye screening photos and AI could be used to identify people at high risk of foot problems, and stop complications before they develop.
