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DeepSeekEye care

DeepSeek for eye care

Open-weight (MIT) Chinese language model with a 1M context window and a built-in reasoning mode, at very low API costs.

Not specifically recommended

DeepSeek isn't on our list for eye care. It's usable for general work, but first look at the options we recommend for eye care.

GDPR profileOur summary of what the provider itself publishes about your data: EU hosting possible, no training on your data for business use, and self-hosting available. Caution applies to a model with a documented problem, such as an investigation by a regulator. How we measure
GDPR: Caution
QualityQuality from blind duels on LMArena: users choose between two anonymous answers. A difference of about 20 points is noticeable, a few points is noise. How we measure
1475Elo, independent
Editorial scoreOur own assessment on 10 of suitability for professional work, price and privacy. This is a judgement, not a measurement; that is why it always sits alongside the Elo. How we measure
7,4
Entry price
Free
Full GDPR check

What DeepSeek does in eye care

Core tasks in eye care
  • Taking, assessing and archiving retinal photographs and OCT scans (fundus, OCT, visual field)
  • Screening for diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma and AMD and referring on in good time
  • Monitoring patients with wet AMD and planning injection treatments
  • Advising optical customers on frames and lenses, in store and online (fitting, pupillary distance)
Where DeepSeek is strong
  • Very low API costs
  • Open weights (MIT), self-hostable
  • Strong at reasoning, maths and code
  • Large context window (1M tokens)

DeepSeek raises a concrete GDPR concern. The DeepSeek service stores personal data in China and was blocked by the Italian regulator in January 2025. Not recommended for regulated sectors unless you host the model yourself within the EU. Weigh this heavily before deploying it in eye care.

Confidentiality and GDPR

GDPR: Caution

Retinal images are health data and therefore special category personal data under the GDPR. Software that assesses images is a medical device: check the CE class under the MDR (usually IIa or IIb) and whether the algorithm has been validated for your camera or OCT device. Some tools are for 'research use only'. Choose a provider with a data processing agreement, ISO 27001 and ISO 13485, and clear data location (EU hosting or on-premise). Ask whether your images are used to train models. Opticians without a medical background may screen and refer, but not make a diagnosis. Explain in your client communication what an AI result does and does not mean. Under the EU AI Act, medical AI counts as high risk.

The DeepSeek service stores data in China and uses it for training by default (with an opt-out). Only an EU self-hosted variant of the open weights is defensible for sensitive data.

Rule of thumb Use the business variant with a data processing agreement, and keep a human in the loop for decisions that matter.
Caution the DeepSeek service stores personal data in China and was blocked in January 2025 by the Italian regulator. Advised against for regulated sectors, unless you host the model yourself within the EU.

Prices

Chat / appFreeOn chat.deepseek.com
Self-hostingFreeOpen weights, your own compute costs
API (V4.1-Flash)$0.15 / 1M in$0.60 / 1M out (off-peak rate); peak hours (Mon–Fri 01–04 and 06–10 UTC) at double the price; cache-hit input $0.003 per 1M
API (V4-Pro)$0.66 / 1M in$1.98 / 1M out (off-peak rate); peak hours at double the price; cache-hit input $0.022 per 1M

Other models for eye care

Claude for eye careAnthropic · editorial 9.01506Gemini for eye careGoogle · editorial 8.61527ChatGPT for eye careOpenAI · edition 8.91485Copilot for eye careMicrosoft · editorial 8.31485
All options for eye care
Professional tools on DeepSeek

We are not aware of a professional tool for eye care that runs publicly on DeepSeek.

Questions about DeepSeek for eye care

Is DeepSeek suitable for eye care?
Not specifically. DeepSeek isn't on our list for eye care; it's broadly applicable, but first look at the options we recommend for eye care. Keep a professional in the loop for every use.
May I put confidential data into DeepSeek?
Retinal images are health data and therefore special category personal data under the GDPR. Software that assesses images is a medical device: check the CE class under the MDR (usually IIa or IIb) and whether the algorithm has been validated for your camera or OCT device. Some tools are 'research use only'. Choose a supplier with a data processing agreement, ISO 27001 and ISO 13485, and a clear data location (EU hosting or on-premise). Ask whether your images are used to train models. Opticians without a medical background may screen and refer, but not make a diagnosis. Explain in your client communication what an AI result does and does not mean. Under the EU AI Act, medical AI is classed as high-risk. The DeepSeek service stores data in China and by default uses it for training (with opt-out). Only a self-hosted EU variant of the open weights is defensible for sensitive data.
What does DeepSeek cost?
There is Chat / app (Free), Self-hosted (Free), API (V4.1-Flash) ($0.15 / 1M in), API (V4-Pro) ($0.66 / 1M in). Check current prices on the official site.
Next stepAll 26 options for eye careProfessional tools and general assistants side by side, on GDPR profile, price and quality.

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