Platform for the early detection and diagnosis of diabetic retinopathy
Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a microvascular complication of type 1 and type 2 diabetes that affects the small vessels of the retina. DR can lead to complete vision loss if not detected early and is the major cause of preventable blindness in working-age adults.
Globally, DR is the fifth cause of blindness and visual impairment affecting between 3-4% of people in Europe. DR affects 30% of people with diabetes and it is estimated that 280 million people have lost their sight due to diabetes worldwide.
When detected on time, the risk of DR can be reduced by 95% but the disease is asymptomatic in its early stages and the risk of developing DR varies among patients.
DR can be prevented by controlling risk factors, such as glycemia or arterial hypertension. But existing healthcare systems are inefficient in detecting DR for several reasons as short supply of cameras or the fact that 29% of Europeans live outside urban areas, where ophthalmologist units are not located.
The solution stems originally from an European project funded by EIT Health with a Consortium constituted by 7 partners: the Institut d’Investigació Sanitària Pere Virgili, the Institut Català de la Salut, GENESIS Biomed , Telefónica SA, Grupo TRC, and the French organizations Fondation de l’Avenir and E’Seniors.
The solution combines artificial intelligence (AI) models and 5G technologies, that would enable the capture of images at medical offices closest to the population by smart phone. The deep learning models and AI will automatically analyze DR image, helping to predict the risk of a person developing DR.
Josep Lluís has 20 years’ experience in the biomedical sector. He has worked for big pharma companies (Sanofi), mid-size pharmas (Ferrer Grupo), small biotechs (Hospital spin-off), tech transfer offices (Fundació Bosch i Gimpera) and consulting firms (Antares Consulting and Asphalion). He has also been associate professor at IQS. His experience is based on healthcare strategy, technology transfer, fundraising of start-up companies, business development, marketing, market access, reimbursement and regulatory affairs.
RetinaReadRisk is a spinoff from the IISPV, which emerged as part of a project funded by EIT Health, with GENESIS Biomed acting as venture builder. The company currently has public and private funding that allows it to start its activities, the first step being the identification and hiring of the CEO. Following the investment round …
The test to detect diabetic retinopathy is an examination of the fundus of the eye. In Catalonia it is carried out in certain primary care centers (CAP), mostly located in cities. In the future, the aim is to put the technology that will commercialize the spin- off at the service of all CAPs so that …
We are grateful to our sponsors and partners for their support, commitment and trust in the project
