Insight Health Data Research Hub

12/01/2026

A commonly used eye injection can effectively manage a previously untreatable condition, hypotony, reports a new paper published in British Journal of Ophthalmology.

Hypotony is characteristed by abnormally low intraocular pressure, which can cause the eye's internal structures to distort, leading to vision loss. It affects around 100 people in the UK each year. The standard treatment has been to fill the eye with silicon gel. However, this can have toxic side effects.

Now, research led by colleagues at Moorfields Eye Hospital, at the world's first dedicated hypotony clinic, has found that ocular injections containing HPMC (hydroxypropyl methylcellulose) - a low-cost gel used in most eye surgery - can be safely used to increase the size and pressure of eyes.

As reported by the BBC: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c89qyv98lzdo

Read the paper: https://bjo.bmj.com/content/early/2026/01/04/bjo-2025-327866?rss=1

Nicki's eye had collapsed in on itself, but a new gel injection method has saved her vision.

29/12/2025

Over the past year, INSIGHT marked some significant milestones, and enabled world-leading research in medical artificial intelligence - laying the foundations for 2026 and beyond. Here are a few highlights:

- A collaboration with US biotech insitro to build a foundation model for drug discovery in and neurology; with researchers from the Pearse Keane medical AI group that spans UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, Moorfields Eye Hospital NIHR Moorfields Biomedical Research Centre co-leading development for INSIGHT. The project was championed by patient advocate Elaine Manna, who sadly passed away in July. Elaine's legacy lives on through this and other work that will benefit future generations.
https://www.insight.hdrhub.org/post/insitro-and-uk-s-insight-at-moorfields-eye-hospital-announce-collaboration-to-expand-research-effort

- An AI tool that can predict eye damage from the autoimmune drug hydroxychloroquine years before signs appear. https://www.insight.hdrhub.org/post/ai-predicts-eye-damage-from-autoimmune-drug-years-before-symptoms-appear

- Launch of Global RETFound, a consortium of research groups from more than 100 countries building the first AI model in healthcare with globally representative data. https://www.insight.hdrhub.org/post/quest-to-build-the-first-medical-ai-foundation-model-with-globally-representative-data

- Work led by Shafi Balal and colleagues, predicting when young people with the sight-threatening eye condition kerataconus need treatment to stabilise the cornea and prevent loss of vision. https://www.insight.hdrhub.org/post/ai-detects-eye-changes-that-lead-to-sight-loss-in-young-people

- An AI system that can accurately assess disease activity in wet AMD, potentially transforming how the NHS monitors and manages the condition. hhttps://www.insight.hdrhub.org/post/ai-can-identify-treatment-gaps-for-patients-with-macular-disease-study-shows

- Starting in 2026, a new initiative supported by UK Research and Innovation Medical Research Council and NIHR to scale INSIGHT and create a national resource for eye health and research.
https://www.insight.hdrhub.org/post/new-initiative-to-transform-uk-eye-health-research-by-linking-national-data-resources

This progress is made possible thanks to the thousands of patients who attend routine appointments at Moorfields every month, contributing to INSIGHT's anonymised data pipeline of more than 30 million images linked to clinical records - the world's largest ophthalmic bio-resource for healthcare research.

As always, Moorfields Eye Charity and Friends of Moorfields have proved invaluable allies in our work.

19/12/2025

Share your experiences and views on AI in healthcare with the Medicines & Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and help to shape the standards for new AI technologies in the NHS and wider health sector. The agency has launched a call for evidence, open to everyone. Closes 2nd Feb 2026.

05/12/2025

Retinal Vein Occlusion (RVO) - a blockage to a vein in the retina - is a common cause of sudden vision loss and can lead to permanent vision impairment or blindness if left untreated.

For trusted researchers investigating detection and treatment of RVO, INSIGHT at Moorfields Eye Hospital provides access to an anonymised, longitudinal RVO dataset of high-resolution eye images with linked clinical data.

INSIGHT’s recently updated RVO catalogue captures an overview of the data pipeline, including numbers of patients and injections, as well as demographic information.

🔗 View here:https://7877f2f2-4f13-4a87-95fc-ff05dd6a7b8a.filesusr.com/ugd/94ac60_abcc9d67bbc14aa795699b5975ea88f3.pdf

We encourage data access applications from researchers in the NHS, academia, industry, policy, charities, tech and beyond, who are working for patient benefit. INSIGHT also provides clinical expertise through research consultancy for the development of medical AI, supported by the leadership of INSIGHT director Pearse Keane, who is Professor of Artificial Medical Intelligence at UCL Institute of Ophthalmology and a consultant ophthalmologist at Moorfields.

03/12/2025

Diabetic Retinopathy (DR) affects a third of the 4.4 million people estimated to have diabetes in the UK, and is a leading cause of preventable blindness in the adult working population globally.

Through INSIGHT at Moorfields Eye Hospital, DR data is routinely collected from patient appointments, anonymised and curated into information-rich datasets. This data is accessible to researchers working for patient benefit, and is a valuable bio-resource representing the diversity of the population served by Moorfields.

For more information view the recently updated INSIGHT DR data catalogue 🔗https://7877f2f2-4f13-4a87-95fc-ff05dd6a7b8a.filesusr.com/ugd/94ac60_b75339a9e3d04f739a03e813a0484ffb.pdf

Find out how to apply for access
🔗 https://www.insight.hdrhub.org/researcher-overview

01/12/2025

Cataract surgery has grown to become the most frequently undertaken NHS surgical procedure, according to the National Ophthalmology Database Audit.

INSIGHT's curated, anonymised data pipeline of Cataract patients attending routine appointments at Moorfields Eye Hospital provides a rich resource for researchers who are investigating earlier detection and future care pathways for this common condition - affecting 1 in 3 people over the age of 65.

For more information, visit INSIGHT’s recently updated Cataract data catalogue, providing an overview of patient numbers, operations and demographics.
ðŸ”https://7877f2f2-4f13-4a87-95fc-ff05dd6a7b8a.filesusr.com/ugd/94ac60_6bccb39e79ce46db90de3cf4ed8df006.pdf

INSIGHT's Cataract dataset is one of many across a range of common eye conditions, curated from the world's largest ophthalmic bio-resource, containing more than 30 million eye images linked to clinical data.

Find out more about data at INSIGHT and how to apply for access:
🔗 http://bit.ly/eye-data

27/11/2025

‘Wet’ Age-related Macular Degeneration is the leading cause of irreversible vision loss in older people, and accounts for around 1 in 10 ophthalmology appointments in the NHS.

Increasing patient referrals coupled with workforce shortages have led to concerns over avoidable sight loss due to appointment delays, but large-scale AMD datasets at INSIGHT are underpinning research to improve detection and management, and identify targets for drug discovery.

INSIGHT’s recently updated catalogue for wet AMD data provides a breakdown of anonymised data, collected from routine appointments at Moorfields Eye Hospital, including types of injections and demographic details.

We encourage data access applications from researchers in the NHS, academia, industry, policy, charities, tech and beyond, who are working for patient benefit. INSIGHT also provides clinical expertise through research consultancy for the development of medical AI, supported by the leadership of INSIGHT director Pearse Keane, who is Professor of Artificial Medical Intelligence at UCL Institute of Ophthalmology and a consultant ophthalmologist at Moorfields.

View the AMD data catalogue and find out about access: https://lnkd.in/eSwtG5v5

25/11/2025

Scientific understanding of the link between the eye and the rest of the body is expanding rapidly through the field of .

Pioneered by Moorfields Eye Hospital and UCL Institute of Ophthalmology with INSIGHT, Oculomics uses ocular biomarkers to detect systemic conditions, typically through analysis of large-scale datasets containing both eye and systemic disease information.

Now available through INSIGHT at Moorfields, the Eye Dementia Dataset provides a valuable Oculomics resource for researchers investigating how eye biomarkers could be used for earlier detection of dementia onset and monitoring of disease progression.

The dataset contains secondary care data for some 230,000 patients with dementia diagnosis, attending routine appointments at Moorfields Eye Hospital.

INSIGHT encourages data access applications from researchers in the NHS, academia, industry, policy, charities, biotech and beyond, who are working to advance eye health research for the benefit of patients and wider society.

INSIGHT also provides clinical expertise through research consultancy for the development of medical AI, supported by the leadership of INSIGHT director Pearse Keane, who is Professor of Artificial Medical Intelligence at UCL and a consultant ophthalmologist at Moorfields.

Find out more about the Eye Dementia Dataset, and how to apply for access: https://insight.hdrhub.org/insight-dataset-summaries

24/11/2025

Scientific understanding of the link between the eye and the rest of the body is expanding rapidly through the field of .

Pioneered by Moorfields Eye Hospital and UCL Institute of Ophthalmology with INSIGHT, Oculomics uses ocular biomarkers to detect systemic conditions, typically through analysis of large-scale datasets containing both eye and systemic disease information.

Now available through INSIGHT at Moorfields, the Eye Dementia Dataset provides a valuable Oculomics resource for researchers investigating how eye biomarkers could be used for earlier detection of dementia onset and monitoring of disease progression.

The dataset contains secondary care data for some 230,000 patients with dementia diagnosis, attending routine appointments at Moorfields Eye Hospital.

INSIGHT encourages data access applications from researchers in the NHS, academia, industry, policy, charities, biotech and beyond, who are working to advance eye health research for the benefit of patients and wider society. INSIGHT also provides clinical expertise through research consultancy for the development of medical AI, supported by the leadership of INSIGHT director Pearse Keane, who is Professor of Artificial Medical Intelligence at UCL and a consultant ophthalmologist at Moorfields.

Find out more about the Moorfields Eye Dementia Dataset, and how to apply for access: 🔗 https://lnkd.in/eKtaYqJS

20/11/2025

Consider supporting the world-leading eye research funded by Moorfields Eye Charity at Moorfields Eye Hospital and UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, and buy a Christmas raffle ticket this year.

06/11/2025

INSIGHT has been awarded £3.7 million in funding by UKRI Medical Research Council and the NIHR Moorfields Biomedical Research Centre to expand from Moorfields Eye Hospital and link national health data resources, consolidating the UK as the global leader in ophthalmology and research and innovation.

Led by Pearse Keane and delivered with Moorfields’ strategic partner UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, the four-year project will include:

- on-boarding other NHS sites, including Sunderland Eye Infirmary at South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust, and creating a comprehensive, interoperable research resource for ophthalmic data

- broadening national data linkages to integrate genetic data from the NIHR BioResource and UK Biobank and accelerate research — using biomarkers in the eye to detect systemic conditions such as dementia and cardiovascular disease

- a major programme of public and patient involvement and engagement

🔗 Find out more:

The UK will benefit from a new initiative to scale the INSIGHT Health Data Research Hub for Eye Health and Oculomics – the world’s largest collection of curated eye imaging and linked clinical data at Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.

03/11/2025

Writing for Forbes, reporter Cathy Rubin covers 'code-to-clinic' progress in AI for eye care, with the goal of preventing avoidable sight loss.

Cathy interviews leaders in the field, including Pearse Keane, whose inter-disciplinary research group at UCL Institute of Ophthalmology and Moorfields Eye Hospital is leading the way in developing fair, robust medical AI for detection of eye disease and systemic conditions.

The article covers Pearse's work leading INSIGHT to become the world's largest ophthalmic bioresource for health data research and AI training, and the deployment of RETFound, the world's first AI foundation model for eye health. .

More than 2.2 billion people live with near- or distance-vision impairment, and about 1 billion of those cases were preventable