International Retinal Imaging Systems (IRIS) and AEYE Health have entered into a partnership that will integrate the companies retina-based technologies and software.
Give me a rundown on each company first.
AEYE Health is a digital health company focused on providing fully autonomous, artificial intelligence (AI)-based retinal imaging and diagnostics for retinal imaging.
IRIS provides diabetic teleretinal screening exams for at-risk diabetic patients via camera-agnostic technology.
Let’s talk about AEYE Health’s technology.
The company’s AEYE Diagnostic Screening (AEYE-DS) was cleared by the FDA in November 2022 for the detection of more-than-mild diabetic retinopathy (DR) in diabetes patients ages 22+ with no prior DR diagnosis
How does it work?
The technology captures images from both eyes of a patient via a desktop camera (Topcon NW-400) and uses AI to analyze data of the retina.
Compared to standard screening screenings—which can typically take 15 to 20 minutes—the AEYE-DS takes just 1 minute to provide diagnostic results.
See here for clinical data on it.
Gotcha. Now talk about the IRIS software.
The IRIS Solution provides one method for examining, diagnosing, and providing a customized care plan for patients.
- The software assists in selecting a retinal camera for a teleretinal screening exam (based on a physician’s electronic health record (EHR).
- Post-exam, the retinal images are integrated into the platform for upload and interpretation.
- Proprietary image enhancement technology is then applied to all fundus images.
Then what?
From there, the fundus images are remotely reviewed by a physician from the IRIS Reading Center (IRC)—a group of 125-board certified retina specialists and ophthalmologists—across the United States—who evaluate both the original and enhanced images to determine the presence of disease along with grading severity level.
The images and diagnosis (if applicable) are then sent back to the EHR for a potential specialist referral.
Gotcha. So what does this partnership include?
Per the agreement, IRIS will license AEYE Diagnostic Screening and enable IRIS customers to use the AEYE-DS for autonomous detection of DR with the IRIS Solution.
Any input from the companies?
According to AEYE Health CEO and co-founder Zack Dvey-Aharon, PhD, the partnership will allow the company to reach a higher level of adoption—thanks to IRIS’s footprint in over 600 clinics, pharmacies, and labs. “In the future, our hope is to provide a camera option that IRIS customers can leverage in the 150,000 annual DR screenings that are performed during in-home visits,” he stated.