Topcon Corporation has appointed Ali Tafreshi as TopCon Healthcare Inc.’s new president and CEO.
Refresh me on this company.
Founded in 1932 and headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, Topcon Corporation is a manufacturer of optical equipment for ophthalmology and surveying.
As a division of the Japanese company, Topcon Healthcare is a global provider of medical devices and software solutions within the ophthalmic community.
Its focus: solving societal challenges in healthcare, including rising medical costs, healthcare access, and physician shortages.
What kind of devices do they offer?
The company’s medical device products are designed for:
- Retina: slit lamps, fundus cameras, optical coherence tomography [OCT]
- Glaucoma: perimeters, OCT, tonometer, data management
- Cataract: corneal analyzer, microscopes, pre-testing
- Refractive: auto refractometer, lensmeter, microscopes, topographer, etc.
- Exam lane: slit lamp, exam lane equipment
- Digital health: remote diagnostics, diabetic retinopathy screening, data management
Any product updates to know about?
See here for our most recent (November 2023) news regarding Topcon’s launch of its latest visual field testing device: the TEMPO Perimeter.
I thought Topcon already announced its new leader ...
Sort of ... but that was for Topcon's corporate company—not Topcon Healthcare.
We'll explain:
Earlier this month, Takashi Eto was once again named as president and CEO of Topcon Corporation, effective April 1, 2024. He has held both positions since April 1, 2023.
Take note: (before you get too confused): Topcon Corporation, which Eto presides over, is the broader Topcon organization that Topcon Healthcare (which Tafreshi now leads) is under the umbrella of.
Back to Tafreshi: What’s his background?
Most recently, Tafreshi served as Topcon’s chief officer of Strategy, Innovation, and Clinical Development.
Prior to TopCon, his 20-year eyecare experience included joining Heidelberg Engineering as global head/vice president of Product Management and Clinical Affairs.
What else?
Tafreshi was also with the San Diego, California-based Hamilton Research Center, working on a range of investigator-initiated National Institutes of Health (NIH) studies plus sponsor-initiated pharmaceutical and medical device clinical trials.
His positions included:
- Research scientist
- Primary research coordinator
- Clinical trials manager
- Co-investigator
Gotcha. So what will he be focusing on in his new role?
His responsibilities will include maintaining the company’s focus on “improving healthcare access cost, and quality by delivering AI-powered solutions via … Harmony.”
Quick refresh on that, please.
Topcon Harmony is a clinical image and data management solution designed to streamline clinical practice workflow and organize all ophthalmic clinical data with just one screen.
The resulting capabilities:
- Minimization of transcription errors
- Reduced need for instrument-specific software
- Customizable reporting
- Vendor-neutral connecting (enabling all devices, regardless of type or brand)
- Secure browser-based access
- Telehealth portal for second opinion consulting/referrals
Gotcha. So what else will Tafreshi be responsible for?
He will also expand the application of “oculomics”—”using the eye to determine eye and systemic health status,” according to Tafreshi.
“We call this strategy ‘Healthcare from the Eye’,” he stated.
And when is this executive change effective?
Immediately.