CUHK Develops Highly Accurate Retinal Approach to Assess Heart Disease Risk in People Living With HIV

Dr Grace Lui Chung-yan (R), clinical associate professor (honorary) from the Department of Medicine and Therapeutics; Professor Benny Zee Chung-ying (2nd L), director of the Centre for Clinical Research and Biostatistics at The Jockey Club School of Public Health and Primary Care and other research team members from CU Medicine. CUHK

Since people living with HIV are at an increased risk for developing cardiovascular diseases, regular risk screening is recommended. However, conventional cardiovascular risk prediction models are not accurate enough due to their failure to consider crucial variables such as race and health status, including conditions like AIDS.

To address this issue, the researchers at the Faculty of Medicine of the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), utilized an innovative technique called “Automatic Retinal Image Analysis,” which analyzes retinal features by capturing retinal images, also known as digital fundus photographs. By combining these images with traditional models, the researchers were able to accurately calculate the risk of two types of coronary heart disease in HIV-infected patients with a sensitivity and specificity exceeding 90 percent. The study’s findings were published in the international medical journal PLOS ONE.