ZEISS Medical Technology announced an extensive lineup of optical and digital innovations on display during this weekend’s 2025 American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) annual meeting.
What we’re focusing on: The company’s FDA-cleared CLARUS 700 with ICGA.
So tell me about this.
The newest addition to ZEISS’s ultra-widefield (UWF) portfolio, CLARUS 700, is an advanced UWF retinal imaging system that provides comprehensive fundus photography and diagnostic angiography.
- In a nutshell: The FDA refers to it as “an active, software-controlled, high resolution ophthalmic imaging device for in-vivo imaging of the human eye.”
Speaking of the FDA—what’s its regulatory background?
Although CLARUS was initially granted FDA 510(k) clearance in 2019, it was most recently cleared (in April 2025) with a new functionality: ICGA.
- What this is: The addition of indocyanine green angiography (ICGA), a diagnostic test that improves imaging of choroidal vasculature compared to fluorescein angiography.
- But more on that later …
Let’s talk about the fundus camera’s basic capabilities.
First: CLARUS captures UWF images in true color with channel separation— into red, green, and blue channel images—to enhance the visual contrast of details within certain layers of the retina.
- This is enabled via Broad Line technology, which captures natural-color fundus images.
Now to its modalities and capabilities.
Several built-in imaging modalities, including (aside from color fundus photography):
- Fluorescein angiography (FA); autofluorescence (green and blue); infrared (IR) imaging and external ocular surface imaging; and stereo imaging options for depth evaluation.
As for its UWF capabilities, the fundus camera features:
- Widefield (one image): ~133° from the center of the eye (for a single image)
- UWF (two images): ~200° ultra-wide field (for a two-image montage)
- Montage (up to six images): up to 267°
What type of optical resolution is offered?
Per the system’s technical specifications: 7.3 μm.
What else to know?
The system:
- Operates with a minimum pupil size of 2.5 mm
- Compensates for ametropia (refractive error) with –24 diopters (D) to +20 D
- Offers light-emitting diode (LED) light sources (red, green, blue, and infrared laser diode) ranging from 585 nm to 785 nm
Any automated features?
Yes … as well as artificial intelligence (AI)-based features to assist in capturing imaging.
- PrecisionFocus: Quickly identifies regions of interest and selects areas to optimize focus (without losing the macula focal point)
- AutoBright: With a large dynamic range, this automatically automates the brightness of an image sequence throughout the angiogram—while also preserving the change in signal
- GazePoint: Utilizes AI (via a deep learning algorithm) to automatically locate the optic nerve head and accurately derive a patient’s gaze (in lieu of internal fixation reliance)
Nice! Now circle back to that recently-cleared ICGA component.
The ICGA functionality is integrated into CLARUS’s camera capabilities to complement those pre-existing imaging modes mentioned earlier.
- Included in this: A new movie mode that displays sequential frames across the angiogram for all angiography modalities is also now available.
And with these additions: CLARUS can capture either ICGA by itself, FA alone, or FA + ICGA (simultaneously) during a single angiography session.
- See page 2 of the camera’s updated 510(k) clearance confirmation for further details on this.
So, how else is the camera supporting ICGA?
Other updated features:
- New angiogenic hardware was added to the system, including specialized filters (see page 3) and an IR laser lightbox
- The camera now offers a manual placement of Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS) grids (7-field and macula ETDRS, specifically) over the pictures
- An ICGA “Boost Mode” enables a user-selected option for ICGA capture that increases used light to capture a better picture at a later phase
Impressive … so where can I learn more about CLARUS and its ICGA integration?
If you’re attending AAO this weekend, stop by the ZEISS booth (#2261) for an in-person look at the fundus camera.
Otherwise, reach out to the company to discuss product availability and pricing options.
The American Academy of Ophthalmology annual meeting is taking place Oct. 18-20, 2025, in Orlando, Florida.