What You Should Know:
- Today Ascertain, the partnership between Aegis Ventures and Northwell Holdings, announced a $12M seed funding round to launch its first company, Optain, an artificial intelligence (AI) company leveraging retinal imaging to non-invasively assess patient health.
- With this $12 million investment, Optain is the first company launched by Ascertain, Aegis Ventures and Northwell Holdings’ partnership to develop healthcare AI companies at scale.
AI Retinal Imaging to Non-Invasively Access Patient Health
The eye can act as a window to an individual’s health, but for far too long, non-invasive diagnostics and screenings using the eye have not been available to healthcare providers. Traditional diagnostic methods are often expensive, hard to access, and slow; Optain utilizes emerging AI technology that analyzes information obtained from a simple retinal camera to screen for and diagnose multiple chronic and acute conditions, ranging from ophthalmological to cardiovascular or neurological – all in real time. While the three most common eye diseases – diabetic retinopathy, age-related macular degeneration, and glaucoma – can be detected far earlier with algorithmic retinal image analysis, these are just the start of microvascular diseases detected through retinal screening.
While brand new to the United States, Optain’s roots can be traced back to the Australian-founded company Eyetelligence, which launched in 2019 based on the inventions of Professor Mingguang He, a leading clinician-scientist at the University of Melbourne and Centre for Eye Research Australia. The company has developed a suite of clinically validated and regulatory-approved AI products commercialized in the Australian, New Zealand, European, Japanese and Middle Eastern markets. They are also in two of the largest retail eyecare chains in Australia.
“The three most common eye diseases – diabetic retinopathy, age-related macular degeneration, and glaucoma – can be detected far earlier with algorithmic retinal image analysis. These three diseases, however, are just the tip of the iceberg,” said Prof. Mingguang He. “The eye is a window through which we can discern any disease that affects the microvascular system. This technology allows clinicians to act faster and prevent significant impacts on quality of life.”
