In the dynamic field of ophthalmology, a groundbreaking development is reshaping how clinicians assess patient experiences and treatment outcomes. PROMinsight, an innovative spin-off derived from the Singapore Eye Research Institute and Duke-NUS Medical School, is pioneering the use of artificial intelligence to revolutionize patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) through computerised adaptive tests (CATs). This cutting-edge approach converts the often cumbersome process of gathering patient feedback into a streamlined, data-driven instrument capable of delivering precise insights in real time, thereby transforming vision care.
Traditional PROMs questionnaires, widely adopted in eye care clinics and clinical trials, are typically criticized for their length, repetitiveness, and lack of adaptability. These limitations hinder effective real-time clinical decision-making and reduce patient engagement, ultimately compromising the utility of the data collected. Recognising this challenge, PROMinsight has engineered an AI-powered platform that harnesses sophisticated psychometric algorithms, along with extensive ophthalmic datasets gathered from thousands of patients, to tailor question delivery in a patient-specific manner. This personalised interrogation not only shortens completion times but also enhances the relevance and accuracy of the information obtained.
At the core of PROMinsight’s technology is its computerised adaptive testing capability, which dynamically adjusts each subsequent question based on the individual’s previous responses. This real-time adaptation enables the system to hone in on assessing the specific dimensions of a patient’s visual health and quality of life that are most pertinent, thereby bypassing irrelevant or redundant queries. The resultant data has greater clinical value and enables health professionals to intervene with a nuanced understanding of how ocular diseases and treatments affect daily functions such as mobility, emotional well-being, and patient comfort.
The development of PROMinsight’s capabilities was spearheaded by Professor Ecosse Lamoureux, who integrates expertise in population health and ophthalmic research at both Duke-NUS Medical School and the Singapore Eye Research Institute. His team has meticulously developed CATs tailored to a spectrum of eye conditions prevalent in Asian populations, including diabetic retinopathy, macular edema, cataracts, myopia, glaucoma, and age-related macular degeneration. By leveraging a robust framework of established psychometric principles and intensive empirical data, these tests deliver quantifiable metrics that reflect patient experiences with unprecedented clinical precision.
Professor Lamoureux emphasizes that AI-enhanced PROMs transcend the boundaries of conventional questionnaires by actively listening to patients’ lived experiences and adapting the measurement process accordingly. The CAT methodology equips ophthalmologists with a versatile and powerful tool that captures the nuanced impact of vision impairment beyond visual acuity alone. Moreover, the ability to integrate these tools seamlessly into clinical workflows—supported by cloud-based administration and instantaneous scoring—facilitates real-time clinical decisions informed by comprehensive patient-reported data.
Among the proprietary CAT-based instruments licensed to PROMinsight are MyoRI-CAT for evaluating interventions in myopia, GlauCAT-Asian tailored to glaucoma management in Asian clinical contexts, and MacCAT, designed for patients with age-related macular degeneration. These domain-specific tools embody advanced item response theory models, thereby enabling clinicians to extract meaningful quality of life (QoL) insights that correlate with both patient symptoms and treatment responsiveness.
PROMinsight’s innovation underwent rigorous validation during a year-long implementation study conducted at the Singapore National Eye Centre, which focused on patients receiving treatments for diabetic macular edema, glaucoma, and cataract. The results were striking: patients demonstrated over 80% engagement with the CAT system and reported highly positive user experiences, noting the questionnaires addressed dimensions of daily life often overlooked in routine care. The success of this pilot is propelling plans for broader deployment across multiple departments within the institution.
Feedback from clinicians underscores the clinical value of integrating PROMinsight’s CATs into practice. For instance, quality of life scores captured by these assessments revealed discrepancies between objective visual measures and patient well-being, illuminating hidden deficits that would otherwise go undetected. Such insights have the potential to refine treatment regimens and patient counseling by foregrounding personalized patient experiences alongside traditional clinical indicators.
Beyond Singapore, PROMinsight is forging international collaborations with ophthalmologists, academic medical centers, pharmaceutical companies, and regulatory bodies including the FDA and EMA. These partnerships underscore the platform’s scalability and applicability for clinical trials of novel ophthalmic therapies as well as routine care. Notably, a recent substantial non-dilutive investment from a leading ophthalmic pharmaceutical firm further validates the commercial and clinical impact potential of PROMinsight’s technologies.
Dr. Eva Fenwick, CEO and Co-Founder of PROMinsight and an adjunct professor at Duke-NUS, articulates the platform’s dual promise: enabling rigorous collection of patient-reported data to accelerate pharmaceutical research, while simultaneously equipping eye clinics worldwide with an advanced toolset for monitoring and improving patient outcomes. This convergence of research and clinical utility marks a significant advance in managing and treating eye conditions with patient-centered precision.
The broader significance of PROMinsight’s development lies in its contribution to the evolving paradigm of value-based care—where treatment success is measured not only by clinical parameters but also by the outcomes that matter most to patients. In an era increasingly focused on healthcare results and patient engagement, intelligent tools like PROMinsight’s CATs are becoming indispensable for capturing the multifaceted reality of patient health, fostering more informed clinical decisions and targeted therapeutic strategies.
As AI and data analytics continue to permeate the healthcare landscape, PROMinsight exemplifies how domain-specific adaptation of these technologies can yield transformative improvements. By turning subjective patient experiences into robust, actionable data, this approach exemplifies the future of personalized medicine in ophthalmology, offering hope for improved patient satisfaction and clinical outcomes on a global scale.
Subject of Research:
People
Article Title:
AI-Driven Adaptive Testing Revolutionizes Patient-Reported Outcomes in Vision Care
News Publication Date:
7 April 2026
Web References:
www.duke-nus.edu.sg
www.seri.com.sg
Image Credits:
PROMinsight
