Technology That Could Catch Vision Problems Early And Save Your Eyesight?

Image provided by Retina Technologies

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Eye testing that reduces time, cost and footprint? That is the vision of one startup company that says it is seeking to make eye care more accessible and save patients from preventable blindness by using advanced digital technologies. .

While Retina Technologies’ (RetTech) OcuVueTM products are in prototype and not yet commercially available, the company believes they can radically change the way eye care is administered and make such care far more available to underserved communities both in the United States and globally.

RetTech reports that the technology involves compact, modular hardware with integrated machine learning enabling fast data interpretation, avoiding the need for bulky and expensive,  ophthalmic devices and large amounts of office space. The company has successfully completed clinical trials for its virtual reality module functional vision exams and is developing a highly compact retinal imaging module for high-definition retinal photography. The virtual reality clinical trial was performed in conjunction with New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai, one of the leading vision-care centers worldwide.

An Attractive Option For All Healthcare Providers?

One of the attractive characteristics of the OcuVueTM Digital Vision Screening Platform is that RetTech is confident it could enable it to gain traction with its relative ease of use. There is no specialist training required to use the technology, making it something that could be offered by primary care providers (PCPs) as part of a routine patient examination as opposed to relying on specialist vision service providers. The tests are also much faster than current in-office technologies, creating a lot of value for PCPs and vision specialists. 

When approximately a quarter of U.S. counties reportedly have no access to eye-care providers, this could be a welcome offering in local PCP offices. And best of all, the OcuVueTM platform will be capable of testing for the most important components of vision, including acuity, color deficits, oculomotor function, visual fields, warping, contrast sensitivity, and pupillometry. This drastically increases the probability of catching diseases early.

“Our goal is to deliver a great patient and physician user experience with seamless integration into clinical workflows and healthcare systems,” the company says.

Retina Technologies was founded in 2018 by five medical students who say they understood how advanced digital technologies could radically improve patient outcomes in communities that have limited or no access to conventional eye care services. They saw the situation firsthand while volunteering in communities where too many patients had previously undiagnosed vision loss.

RetTech reports that data shows that with early detection, up to 80% of the patients could have had their vision saved or vastly improved with the type of accessible, easy-to-use diagnostic techniques the company’s digital OcuVue™ technology offers.

Major eye-care technology manufacturers globally include Japan-based Topcon Corp. (OTC: TOPCF) and Germany’s Carl Zeiss Meditec AG (OTC: CZMWY).

The global ophthalmology diagnostic tools market is worth approximately $2.7 billion and growing at 5.4% a year. The U.S. eye examination market is worth about $5 billion.

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