A mobile clinic will offer free eye checks using artificial intelligence in Nessebar on 28 October. No booking is needed, the organisers said. People aged 50 and over can be checked, as can patients with type 1 or type 2 diabetes.

The clinic will stand at 1 Zhulieta Shishmanova Square, in front of the Artium Centre for Culture and Education. It will be open from 10am to 4pm.

A fundus camera takes pictures of the eyes without the pupils having to be widened. An AI programme studies the images on the spot and looks for changes that may point to glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, or the dry or wet form of macular degeneration. The check is quick and painless, and nothing enters the eye.

Before the pictures are taken, each person signs an informed consent form and fills in a short health questionnaire. If the scan shows any problems, an eye doctor on site explains the results and advises what to do next.

The screening does not replace a regular check-up with an eye doctor and is not a medical diagnosis, the organisers warn. It aims to spot changes early so a specialist can look at them. People with diabetes are among those invited because they face a higher risk of eye complications.

The checks are part of the "Check Your Eyes in Time" campaign. The organisers say it aims to get people to protect their sight before the first symptoms appear and to make regular check-ups a habit. They believe that if problems are found early, treatment can start in time and sight can be saved.

The event is organised by the Bulgarian Cluster for Digital Solutions and Innovation in Healthcare (DHI Cluster). Its partners are the Bulgarian Society of Paediatric Ophthalmology, Neuro-ophthalmology and Ophthalmogenetics and the Bulgarian Association of Pharmacoeconomics (ISPOR BG Chapter). The campaign is backed by the Ministry of Health and Roche Bulgaria, and Nessebar council is helping locally.

The mobile clinic will visit 29 small towns and villages in six regions until 13 November. The aim is to make it easier for people in places with fewer health services to get a check like this. More information is available at vijochite.bg.