Diabetic Retinopathy Screening

Preventing Diabetic Retinopathy through accessible screening methods and advanced technology.

What We Do

Work with Patient Partners to co-design research projects aimed at reducing the number of people who develop diabetic retinopathy.
Create new pathways to care that increase access and prioritize patients and equity.
Identify the barriers that people with diabetes face in getting effective screening and needed follow-up care and look for ways to reduce or eliminate these barriers.
Develop and expand effective programs for preventing vision loss and diabetes-related complications on a larger scale.

Get Involved

You will participate in discussions approximately once a month pertaining to research projects and strategic goals of the Network. You can also get involved in a research team! Researchers need your feedback to make sure research projects are relevant for people living with diabetes.

Become a Patient Partner

Our Team

Debbie Sissmore

Valeria Rac

MD, PhD

David Maberley

MD, MSc (Epid), FRCSC

Project OPEN Harnesses the Power of Data

By Krista Lamb With diabetic retinopathy currently a leading cause of blindness in working-age Canadians , the need to do more is clear. That’s why Diabetes Action Canada researchers Dr. Valeria Rac, lead for the Health Technology Assessment and Network Analytics program, and Dr. Michael Brent, lead for Diabetic Retinopathy Screening program, developed Project OPEN. […]

Project OPEN Supports Improved Eye Care for Vulnerable Populations

By Krista Lamb In working-age Canadians, diabetic retinopathy is the leading cause of vision loss. This vision loss is often preventable with early detection and treatment. Even before the pandemic created a greater gap in services, 40% of people living with diabetes in Ontario had not had an eye exam for more than two years. […]

New paper highlights good accuracy of teleretinal screening for diabetic retinopathy

By Krista Lamb In February, BMJ Open Ophthalmology published a paper by Diabetes Action Canada researchers: Diagnostic accuracy of teleretinal screening for detection of diabetic retinopathy and age-related macular degeneration: a systematic review and meta-analysis The paper, which looks at the diagnostic accuracy of teleretinal screening for the detection of diabetic retinopathy and age-related macular […]

Reducing the Risk of Diabetic Retinopathy

Episode five looks at Project OPEN and its potential to reduce the risk of diabetic retinopathy. Malcolm Sissmore and Dr. Michael Brent from UHN Research discuss how this program is trying to make eye screening much more accessible for people living with diabetes.