At the UC San Diego Viterbi Family Department of Ophthalmology and the Shiley Eye Institute, our Division of Ophthalmology Informatics and Data Science is dedicated to advancing data science, artificial intelligence, and big-data analytics for the improvement of vision and health. We are conducting cutting-edge research as well as providing clinical informatics support to develop and integrate state-of-the-art health information technology tools into the day-to-day care of our patients.

Examples of Ophthalmology Informatics and Data Science in the clinic include: deep learning analyses of optic nerve and retinal images, big-data predictive analytics with electronic health record data, innovations in sensor technology, and genomics data interpretation.

Some helpful definitions:

Informatics is the “science of how to use data, information, and knowledge to improve human health and the delivery of health care services” (American Medical Informatics Association).

Data Science is the study of data or facts and figures/numbers. It involves recording, storing, and analyzing data to effectively extract useful information.

Artificial Intelligence is the ability of a computer to do tasks that are usually done by humans because they require intelligence and discernment. In other words, it is the simulation of human intelligence in machines that are programmed to think like humans and mimic their actions. Examples are learning and problem solving.

Big Data is extremely large groups of numbers or data sets that can be analyzed computationally to reveal patterns, trends, and associations – especially relating to human behavior or medically recorded numeric information.

Deep Learning is an artificial intelligence function that imitates the working of the human brain in processing data and creating patterns for use in decision making.

Collaborating Faculty from Other Division/Departments at UC San Diego

UCSD Health Department of Biomedical Informatics
UCSD Health Information Services
UCSD Halicioglu Data Science Institute
UCSD Division of Biostatistics & Bioinformatics in the Department of Family Medicine and Public Health
UCSD Department of Computer Science and Engineering