DIGI4Care’s visit to Hungary: Digital Eye Screening and Remote Ultrasound Education

Exploring real-world pilots in diabetic retinopathy screening and tele-ultrasound education.

In June 2025, DIGI4Care partners gathered in Hungary for a new peer learning visit - this time to explore two digital health pilots tackling critical challenges in chronic care and healthcare training.
Among the participants was Mira Ganova, representing the Digital Health and Innovation Cluster (DHI Cluster) Bulgaria, who joined the visit as part of the ongoing peer exchange programme under DIGI4Care.

Over two days, the international group visited pilot sites in Budapest and Lake Balaton, where local teams are working to test, validate, and scale new digital tools in the areas of diabetes prevention and point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) education.

What Is Digi4Care about?

Digi4Care is a collaborative European initiative focused on enhancing care for individuals living with diabetes, cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer’s disease, dementia and other cognitive disorders. by integrating smart, digital solutions into everyday healthcare.

These partner meetings are held regularly throughout the project to give each participating country the chance to present their pilot work, share progress, and exchange feedback. The goal is to make sure the lessons learned in each country can help improve care models across the entire Digi4Care network.

By reviewing each pilot step by step, the project partners can ensure that the digital solutions being tested are both practical and adaptable to different healthcare systems.

What they saw on the ground

The visit offered a close-up look at the practical implementation of the two Hungarian pilot interventions.

The group visited:

• The National Ambulance Service Headquarters and Museum in Budapest
• Semmelweis Medical University’s Ophthalmology Clinic
• A mobile diabetic screening event at Lake Balaton
  
  

Each location offered a live view of how digital innovation is being introduced into everyday care and clinical workflows - and what it takes to make it work in practice.

Pilot 1: AI-powered eye screening for diabetes prevention

The first Hungarian pilot focuses on improving early detection of diabetic retinopathy using digital tools. 

In Hungary, over 1 million people are living with diabetes, but many do not attend regular eye screenings - putting them at risk of vision loss.

This pilot, developed in partnership with Semmelweis University’s Departments of Ophthalmology and Family Medicine, and a GP practice in Páty (Budapest agglomeration), introduces a non-mydriatic fundus camera powered by AI-based diagnostic software. It enables quick, non-invasive screening at the primary care level.

During the visit, the hosting teams highlighted how such tools can especially benefit underserved areas, where they help bridge care gaps and make preventive care more accessible.

Pilot 2: Remote training for point-of-care ultrasound

The second pilot explores the use of tele-education to train healthcare professionals in POCUS (point-of-care ultrasound). 

Conducted as a randomized controlled non-inferiority trial, the pilot is testing whether remote instruction is as effective as traditional face-to-face training.

Participants include providers from Austria’s Acute Community Nurses and Hungary’s National Ambulance Service, who are working together to assess the potential of this method for broader use.

During the visit, partners observed a live remote diagnosis, showcasing how this approach could support faster, decentralized training - and potentially become part of the Ambulance Service’s daily operations.

Learning together: SWOT analysis in action

As with every peer review, the visit also included a collaborative learning session, where all partners participated in a SWOT analysis of the two pilots. The session helped identify key strengths, limitations, and opportunities for improvement and replication across the region.

Discussions also emphasized the importance of institutional coordination, stakeholder support, and focusing efforts on populations and areas that stand to gain the most from digital transformation.

Bulgaria’s participation in DIGI4Care

Bulgaria will also host one of the upcoming project meetings. 

We are working on our two pilots that closely align with the Hungarian experience - one focused on cardiovascular disease monitoring using Hubis Telemedicine technology, and another on diabetes and diabetic retinopathy.

This made the peer visit in Hungary especially valuable for the Bulgarian team, as it offered direct insights into how similar interventions are being implemented in practice. 

Seeing these pilots in action provided practical lessons that can now be applied and adapted to the Bulgarian context.