Project title: AI-powered smart camera screen “red flag” for life-threatening headache at the point-of-care in emergency department

Supervisor: Dr Lisa Zhuoting Zhu

Email: lisa.zhu@unimelb.edu.au

Suitable for: PhD

In the emergency department (ED), headache is the fourth most common chief complaint.

Papilledema, characterised by optic-nerve edema from intracranial hypertension, is one of the most common red flags in patients presenting with headaches.

Papilledema is a telling clinical sign that prompts urgent evaluation for severe associated conditions like brain mass lesions, brain hemorrhage, and obstructive hydrocephalus.

While papilledema warrants high concern, examination of the optic nerve is infrequently and poorly performed by ED physicians (~1%).

To address this challenge, we, in collaboration with industry partners, developed a Smart Camera by combining a low-cost, portable and fully-automatic retinal camera and artificial intelligence (AI) screening software with excellent accuracy for detecting papilledema.

This project intends to pilot-test the Smart Camera in real-world ED settings.