Aussie eye scanner detects HIV

A WA-developed eye scanner that can detect HIV could become a major screening tool in resourcepoor countries.

The Lions Eye Institute director of the Centre for e-Medicine, Yogesan Kanagasingam, is working with international colleagues to isolate a distinctive pattern of changes in eye tissue, including the blood vessels in the retina, that occur in people with HIV.

Doctors already recognise signs like bleeding and whitening of the retina that occur after advanced infection with cytomegalovirus, which affects up to 40% of people with HIV.

But now, researchers hope to find more subtle signs that could help detect the condition at an earlier stage when treatment could be more effective.

The camera and scanning technique have been trialled on 20 to 30 patients in Thailand, and a long-term study is planned with the University of California.