- Author CRCNA and research partners
- Publish date 17 November 2025
- Type Report
- Documents
- Health service delivery
Summary
This impact report summaries the impacts of the CRCNA project H.5.1718035 ‘Establishing eye screening services to
prevent avoidable blindness in remote northern Australian communities’.
This initiative created an AI-enabled eye screening and telehealth model that is already preventing avoidable blindness in remote northern communities. The service improves diagnostic speed and accuracy, reduces travel costs, builds local workforce skills, and significantly strengthens health outcomes for Indigenous Australians.
Projects
Establishing eye screening services to prevent avoidable blindness in remote Northern Australian communities
A new eye screening service and delivery model will enhance the effectiveness of remote health service delivery, optimise health spending and help close the gap in health outcomes for people in remote areas – particularly those at risk of blindness from underlying conditions such as diabetes. This project implemented retinal screening using a telehealth platform developed by CSIRO. Health workers were trained to use retinal cameras to capture images of patients’ eyes in remote communities. Ophthalmology teams, based in larger regional centres, accessed this information via web-based technologies and provide review and diagnostic services. The lessons learned from this research contributed to the development of a new and innovative model of care for delivering remote health services, with potential applicability to broader health initiatives in remote communities.