BWI: HTIC-Forus Collaboration Delivers Affordable and Accessible Eye-Care

Press release from Business Wire India
Source: IIT Madras
Monday, May 27, 2013 06:27 PM IST (12:57 PM GMT)
Editors: General: Consumer interest, People; Business: Business services, Healthcare, biotechnology & pharmaceutical; Technology; Healthcare
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HTIC-Forus Collaboration Delivers Affordable and Accessible Eye-Care


Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, Monday, May 27, 2013 -- (Business Wire India) -- Over 80% of blindness is preventable if detected early. But still, millions of people remain at risk of vision loss. While patient population is growing rapidly, there is an acute shortfall of qualified ophthalmologists in India.

To address the problem of wider accessibility to eye care, Healthcare Technology Innovation Centre (HTIC) of IIT Madras has created Eye-PACT, a computing technology for extracting information from eye images. Eye-PACT technology can be deployed to create screening and diagnostic solutions for a range of vision-threatening diseases, such as diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma, and age-related macular degeneration.

Forus Health, a young Indian med-tech company has indigenously built 3nethra, a revolutionary ophthalmic imaging system. HTIC collaborated with Forus to develop a custom image computing solution for 3nethra based on HTIC's Eye-PACT technology.

This custom solution enhances visual appearance of eye images produced by 3nethra and locates disease signs that may lead to vision loss at a very early stage.

Dr. Shyam Vasudevarao, President and Chief Technology Officer of Forus Health said, "Translational R&D undertaken by HTIC accelerated product development at Forus, adding great value and synergy to us."

Eye-PACT technology's intelligence in extracting clinically important information enables screening for eye diseases even when an expert is not available. Those who are tested positive during screening can later be sent to an expert for referral and diagnosis. This capability of Eye-PACT combined with 3nethra's ability to perform eye-examination without dilatation (which saves time for patient and operating personnel) enables affordable and large scale screening.

Mr. K. Chandrasekhar, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Forus Health told, "Powered by HTIC's Eye-PACT technology, 3nethra has now reached over 140 installations across 10 countries, namely India, China, France, Thailand, Guatemala, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Oman, Mauritius, and Somalia."

Dr. Mohanasankar, IIT Madras faculty, who heads HTIC said, "Joining hands with Forus provided HTIC team an excellent platform to realise our vision of benefitting society, while adding value to our industry collaborator."

IIT Madras Director, Prof. Bhaskar Ramamurthi said, "It is a matter of great satisfaction that the HTIC of IIT Madras has been able to, within two years of its inception, partner with an Indian tech start-up to develop a world class product with tremendous impact in bridging the yawning gap in ophthalmic screening in India and elsewhere."

Together with HTIC's Eye-PACT technology, 3nethra will continue to reach hundreds of thousands of eyes every year.

About HTIC: Healthcare Technology Innovation Centre (HTIC) is an R&D Centre formed as a joint initiative of the Indian Institute of Technology Madras and the Department of Biotechnology, Government of India to address the unmet need for affordable and accessible healthcare technologies in the country. It brings together engineers, researchers, healthcare professionals, industry, and government to deliver high impact healthcare technologies.

About Forus Health: Forus Health is an innovation-driven technology enterprise managed by very experienced professionals. It develops affordable technology solutions that can easily be used by a minimally trained technician, thereby making health service accessible and scalable. Forus Health is based in Bangalore, India.

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HTIC-Forus Collaboration Delivers Affordable and Accessible Eye-Care
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HTIC-Forus Collaboration Delivers Affordable and Accessible Eye-Care


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KEYWORDS
CONSUMER, PEOPLE, BUSINESS SERVICES, HEALTHCARE, TECHNOLOGY, HEALTHCARE

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