During their recent Optometry appointment, your patient chose to have an assessment of their BioAge. This page is designed to briefly explain what BioAge is, how we assess it, and how our technology works.
BioAge, developed by Toku, is designed to determine a person’s biological age (or BioAge) using their retinal photographs (fundus images) with advanced artificial intelligence technology.
BioAge may be used by optometrists as part of the routine eye examination. It is designed for individuals aged 35 to 75 years of age with the intention of promoting healthy lifestyles. It should not be considered a substitute for professional medical advice.
Step 1
Only images of the retina are required, as well as a few details such as age, gender and ethnicity.
Step 2
The images are then run through our AI engine and deep learning technology to determine the BioAge.
Step 3
Results are generated providing the biological age, health risk levels and potential recommendations.
How BioAge works
BioAge leverages a combination of retinal photography and AI-enabled algorithms to estimate an individual’s biological age during a routine eye exam.
By analysing an individual’s age, gender, ethnicity, and retinal images, all of which can be obtained during a routine optometrist visit, our BioAge’s AI engine can determine their biological age.
Why is knowing a person’s “biological age” important?
Not all people age at the same rate (2) and as a result there is increasing interest in delineating between an individual’s chronological age and their biological age.
While chronological age is defined as the number of years a person has lived, biological age refers to how well the cells in a person’s body are ageing and functioning (3).
Biological age, therefore, provides a better indicator of life span and future functional capacity (4-7).
Although differing theories exist to explain this process, it is recognised that the speed at which the cells deteriorate depends broadly upon factors such as the genes we inherit, our lifestyle choices, how much stress we are under and how our bodies respond to infections we get.
Work in this area has already revealed that estimates of biological age can more accurately predict mortality or the onset of a broad spectrum of physical and psychological diseases ranging from cardiovascular disease (CVD)(8) to clinically significant depression (9) than chronological age.
Until now, most of the tools used to assess biological age require the collection of data which link an individual’s demographic/social status with blood tests and/or radiological tests (10).
Figure 1: Biological versus chronological vascular ageing. Image retrieved and amended from (2).
Why is the retina used?
Toku’s AI platform utilises a revolutionary, patented method to evaluate more than 23 million technical parameters and 12 biological parameters in each retinal image, to produce a BioAge outcome.
The retina has long been recognised as a unique window into an individual’s health, as the biomarkers present in retinal images may provide valuable insights into ageing, inflammatory health, neurological health, and cardiovascular health. The retinal vasculature allows direct non-invasive visualisation of the body’s microvasculature, as it is the only part of the body where scientists and clinicians can directly assess the health of an individual’s neuro-vascular tissues (11).
Figure 2: Segmentation of vascularisation in the retina – providing information on biological parameters contributing to a person’s biological age
While some of these parameters can be evaluated by humans
There are numerous elements that are invisible to the naked eye, but which can be detected by Toku’s AI platform. Figure 3 highlights some of the key features that the AI looks for, making it an essential tool for healthcare providers seeking a comprehensive understanding of their patients’ health.
Figure 3: A few of the many retinal features considered by the BioAge AI engine
What if your patient has questions?
Our motto at Toku is:
“If you know the future, you can change it.”
We believe that knowing one’s BioAge will encourage your patients to live better, healthier lives which will benefit them, their families and their communities.
For some individuals, the result they receive will reassure them that they are doing well. In contrast, for other individuals the results may suggest that their body is not ageing well. Faced with such results, those who are motivated may turn to their primary care physician to determine what can be done to potentially improve their health.
If someone wishes to lower their biological age, there are well known steps that can contribute to a healthier lifestyle. There is strong evidence that simple interventions that will improve wellbeing, such as losing weight, exercising more, stopping smoking, and ensuring one’s blood pressure is under control, may have a significant impact on one’s biological age.
This report is not intended to be used for medical decisions or replace professional medical advice. Please refer to the disclaimers to understand the limitations of this test which can be found on the patient’s report and on our BioAge Page. This test only provides general, well-known advice which is not user-specific or affected by the test results. It is the responsibility of the user to act accordingly and seek professional healthcare advice.
Who we are
At Toku, we are continuously developing our technologies to keep up with the latest research.
We have a multidisciplinary team with backgrounds in scientific, clinical, engineering, regulatory specialties working on these technologies. We believe further development of these tools for clinical use will allow us to improve the assessment, screening, prognosis, and management of your patients in the future.
If you wish to get in contact to find out more about what we are doing, please contact us here. For more information about the ongoing scientific research happening at Toku, see our publications at Research page.
Thank you from the team at Toku.
