"The day before, my eyes were fine," he said. "However, when I woke up the next morning, something seemed to block my sight. I could only tell colors vaguely."
When he was admitted to the hospital, his right eye could only detect a hand moving in front of it, said Lu Cheng, director of ophthalmology at Xinxiang First People's Hospital. Surgery restored some functional vision, but not to its previous level, Lu said.
"Seeing clearly doesn't mean your eyes are healthy," Lu said. He added that middle-aged and older patients in rural areas pay little attention to the risk.
The foundation began using portable retinal cameras and AI image analysis in 2025 so that screening can be done at grassroots clinics. Guo said the Xinxiang pilot keeps AI screening separate from clinical diagnosis, adds quality checks, and follows patients who test positive through diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up.
The hospital, a designated Lifeline Express screening center, has screened more than 13,000 people for retinopathy since 2016. Lu said it plans to send more AI screening equipment to community-level facilities.
Patients newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should have a retinal exam promptly, said Wang Tao, an endocrinologist at the First Affiliated Hospital of Henan University of Chinese Medicine. After that, they should be checked once a year if their condition is stable, and every three to six months if it is progressing. Signs of retinopathy found during screening should also prompt a blood glucose test, he said.
