Dear Friends & Colleagues,
 
It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to the 9th Asia Pacific Tele-Ophthalmology Society (APTOS) Symposium. This year, we will find ourselves in the vibrant city of Hong Kong and its largest innovation ecosystem – the Hong Kong Science Park.
 
Since 2016, APTOS has grown from a special interest group on the use of tele-ophthalmology and artificial intelligence (AI) to gradually and systematically tackle the challenges surrounding the use of tele-ophthalmology and AI in ophthalmology. It is promising to see that the global ophthalmology community has already employed AI as a diagnostic tool in their clinical practice and adopted tele-ophthalmology when travel is out of the question. Even so, we realize that much more needs to be done so that more and more ophthalmologists can benefit from technological advancements.
 
For the 2 days of APTOS 2024 to be held from November 30 – December 1 in Hong Kong, we have chosen the theme “Generative AI in Ophthalmology.” We witnessed how ChatGPT became a household name and tool almost overnight. Some of us may already be enjoying the benefits it has brought to our lives. If you are already satisfied with ChatGPT drafting a grant proposal for you, you will certainly be carried away when large language models and AI foundation models generate medical reports or make a prognosis for your patients.
 
The scientific program of APTOS 2024 will feature prominent speakers, excellent panelists and experts with hands-on experience in deploying AI and tele-ophthalmology in their clinical practice. I hope that you will find our program instructive and enjoyable. With this 9th Symposium, we hope to take the next step on our important journey to bring vision for all with digital health.
 
I look forward to your active participation in APTOS 2024 and can’t wait to welcome you to the vibrant city of Hong Kong, whose bustle never stops at all!
 
Yours sincerely,

Prof Mingguang HE
Congress President
APTOS 2024