Topcon Healthcare, Inc. has appointed physician-scientist Daniela Ferrara, MD, PhD, to the role of chief medical officer.
Let’s get some details on Dr. Ferrara.
The newest addition to Topcon’s executive leadership has previously held similar positions in clinical development, personalized healthcare, and global strategic initiatives—with key contributions in retinal therapies, according to the company.
Prior to joining Topcon: Dr. Ferrara spent 10+ years with Genentech, most recently serving as principal medical director in Ophthalmology Product Development.
- That role: Involved heading up the integration of artificial intelligence (AI)-based retinal imaging analysis into clinical trials for both biotech and pharma.
Go on …
On the academic side: Dr. Ferrera is also an assistant professor of Ophthalmology at Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston, Massachusetts.
And clinically speaking: She is a member of the American Society of Retina Specialists (ASRS), with a focus on dystrophic and degenerative diseases of the retina as well as retinal vascular diseases.
Research-wise, she is reported to be interested in:
- Imaging of the posterior segment of the eye
- Multimodal imaging analysis on pathological conditions of the vitreous, retina, and choroid
And what will her focus be at Topcon?
Retinal imaging, for starters.
As Dr. Ferrara noted, her role as CMO will combine her scientific passion for retinal imaging with “a company that is redefining healthcare through digital innovation.”
Specifically: She will collaborate with the team at Topcon to advance a “clinically grounded, data-driven scientific approach to digital health.”
And the end-game goal?
To establish retinal imaging as a first-line tool for eyecare as well as for the screening and management of complex systemic diseases.
“While AI is already transforming clinical research in ophthalmology and other fields of medicine,“ Dr. Ferrara stated, “there is still so much to be done to improve the clinical outcomes of patients at risk for visual threatening or serious systemic conditions, including cardiovascular, metabolic, or neurologic diseases.”
Is there a specific name for this digital health approach?
Indeed there is—and it may sound familiar, as the company has been actively pursuing it via a number of strategic partnerships with digital platforms over the last year.
The approach: Healthcare from the Eye initiative
- What it is: A clinical care strategy of using A-based ocular imaging data or functional data to enable earlier detection and management of ocular and systemic diseases.
And the key piece to this approach: Topcon’s Harmony.
Explain what this is.
Harmony is a clinical image and data management platform that streamlines clinical practice workflows and organizes all ophthalmic clinical data via a single screen.
A few of its notable features include:
- Minimized transcription areas
- Customized reporting
- Reduced reliance on instrument-specific software
- Inclusive device connectivity (regardless of type or brand)
- Secure and browser-based access
- Telehealth portal for referrals and second opinion consulting
And what’s the latest partnership involving this platform?
That would be Topcon’s collaboration with Glaukos Corporation and RadiusXR to launch RadiusXR’s wearable vision testing platform, Inspire—the only commercially available platform of its kind that combines visual fields correlated to the clinical standard.
- Read all the details (including how the platform integrates with Harmony and Topcon’s role as the exclusive global distributor).