San Francisco-based data science and eye care company Spect announced Monday that it is partnering with New York City-based MedArrive to offer at-home retinal screening to patients at high risk of developing blindness. Terms of the partnership were not disclosed.
medical arrival Work with health plans and providers to deliver clinical services in patients’ homes. MedArrive providers will use Spect’s AI-enabled telehealth platform to screen patients for eye conditions such as diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma and age-related macular degeneration.
“Early detection of eye diseases such as diabetic retinopathy (DR) is critical to preventing the risk of blindness,” said Michael Ricci, co-founder and CEO ghost, in an email.
The problem, he noted, is that almost 50 percent of people with diabetes are not screened diabetes Retinopathy Due to the inconvenience and lack of portability of current methods.
“If not detected and treated early, it can lead to severe visual impairment that can worsen to blindness, with a significant impact on a patient’s quality of life, independence and mobility,” Ricci said.
Spect is focused on preventing blindness by making eye disease screening more accessible, especially for those who may not be able to complete screening. A practice with the company has obtained a small portable imaging device that can be used anywhere to screen people for eye disease and analyze the results in minutes.
“The AI makes it easier for the user by guiding them to the area, where the AI will decide when to capture the image and make sure the image is in focus of the desired area,” said Spect co-founder Michael Leung. Explain in email. “It takes all the guesswork out of the user, resulting in faster, more accurate exams with lower failure rates. Spect is able to diagnose over 95% of patients.”
Most of the patients working with MedArrive are older adults who are at higher risk for eye diseases that can lead to blindness.
“Diabetes affects nearly one-third of the U.S. population, and many are affected by related health complications. Diabetic retinopathy is currently a major problem among U.S. adults,” Dan Trigub, co-founder and CEO of MedArrive, said in an email. The leading cause of vision loss, which affects the lives of millions, can be prevented with regular eye exams, but Trigub said most patients skip annual eye exams because of the inability to make appointments, the lack of home care options and a shortage of retina specialists. Spect’s technology makes treatment more affordable and accessible, he added.
This home hospital During the pandemic, the flow and associated expansion of health care services now provided to those outside clinical walls will only accelerate.This extends to routine screening and preventive medicine problems that occur in a traditional office or inpatient setting.
Companies such as Eye-Que already offer home vision tests to consumers, but their technology cannot detect retinopathy or glaucoma and other serious eye conditions. Since January 2020, iCare has been able to sell its iCare Home product to help glaucoma patients test their eye pressure at home. But it’s more glaucoma management than the at-home screening that Spect and MedArrive intend to facilitate.
In addition to bringing this capability to consumers, MedArrive and Spect hope they can reach underserved populations.
“Our partnership with MedArrive is very exciting because of MedArrive’s extensive exposure to Medicare Advantage and home communities,” Ricci said. “These patients will have difficulty accessing traditional eye care specialists due to a lack of availability. Spect is able to leverage MedArrive’s existing network of EMS and care providers and empower them with the ability to perform eye screening using a portable platform.”
Photo: KAREN BLEIER/AFP via Getty Images
