AI for access: Reimagining healthcare beyond hospitals

India’s market for AI in healthcare is on an extraordinary growth trajectory — projected to rise from $950 million in 2024 to $1.6 billion in 2025. But this surge is more than just a statistic — it reflects a growing realisation that AI is uniquely positioned to solve one of India’s most entrenched healthcare challenges: access.

For decades, timely diagnosis — particularly in rural India — has been hindered by the acute shortage of medical specialists. Rural areas face an 80 per cent shortfall of specialists, leaving millions without access to early screening or diagnosis. Traditional diagnostic tools, while technologically advanced, were historically locked within the walls of tertiary hospitals — expensive, complex, and out of reach for much of the population.

This is now changing. The convergence of AI with portable, point-of-care diagnostic devices has unlocked a powerful new possibility: screening, early detection, and triaging of patients at the community level — bringing specialist care to the last mile. Among all the applications of AI in healthcare, its ability to unlock access may well be its most immediate, life-altering superpower.

AI for eye care: Global Need, Local Innovation

According to the World Health Organization, 2.2 billion people globally live with vision impairment — and at least 1 billion of them are preventable or untreated. Compounding this problem is the lack of eye care professionals.

AI-integrated retinal imaging is helping bridge this gap by empowering healthcare workers —nurses, and field workers — to screen for vision-threatening conditions right at the point of care. This task shifting allows ophthalmologists to focus on complex cases while dramatically expanding the reach of eye care.

Remidio has been at the forefront of this transformation. Its smartphone-based, non-mydriatic retinal camera — portable, affordable, and battery-operated — is purpose-built for low-resource settings. Integrated with offline AI that screens for diabetic retinopathy (DR), glaucoma, and age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the device supports real-time decision-making without relying on internet connectivity or expensive cloud infrastructure.

Today, Remidio’s AI-powered cameras are deployed in diverse settings — from mobile vans in the rural Northeast, door-to-door screenings in the slums of Maharashtra, to public health centers across Kerala — ensuring that the last mile is no longer the last priority.

Rooted in ethical AI: Building trust through rigor

Technology in healthcare must begin with the principle of primum non nocere — first, do no harm.

At Remidio, every AI model is grounded in explainability, transparency, and rigorous real-world validation. Our algorithms have undergone prospective clinical trials at globally renowned academic centers, ensuring that their safety and performance meet the highest standards.

Tools like activation maps give doctors visibility into how AI arrives at its decisions — building trust with clinicians and patients alike. Regulatory approvals across India, Europe, and Singapore strengthen confidence in our approach — proof that AI can be both cutting-edge and responsible.

AI integration, not just innovation: Kerala a role model for the world

AI is not just a fancy tool – but can be life-changing when it integrates seamlessly into public health systems.

Nayanamritham 2.0, launched in February 2025 by the Government of Kerala, is the India’s first government-led AI-assisted chronic retinal disease screening program. Using Remidio’s 3-in-1 AI platform, frontline health workers can instantly classify patients as referable or non-referable — accelerating detection for DR, glaucoma and AMD.

But screening is only part of the story. The real success lies in creating channels for referrals — ensuring that those diagnosed receive timely care at district and tertiary care facilities. Through sustained efforts in awareness, training, and long-term support, the program has scaled from pilot to wider adoption — setting a global precedent for cost-effective, scalable AI deployment in public health.

AI for systemic health: Unlocking clues from the retina

India, like much of the world, is battling an upsurge of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) — diabetes, cardiovascular disease, stroke, chronic kidney disease, and more. With one of the world’s largest diabetes populations, and 65 per cent of deaths attributed to NCDs, early detection has never been more critical.

But in the real world, healthcare rarely gets a second chance. For millions of daily wage earners, survival comes first — and health takes a backseat.

That’s why, at Remidio, we see every retinal scan as a one-time opportunity. Through AI applied to retinal images — a field known as oculomics — we look for biomarkers to signal early signs of life-threatening systemic conditions like heart attacks, stroke and chronic kidney disease.

Whether it’s a farmer silently losing vision to glaucoma or a labourer with unknown diabetic kidney disease, our AI-powered solution is built to screen for all — in that one precious moment when we do have their attention.

Because saving vision is vital. But detecting risk early enough to change lives — that’s the future we’re building towards.