RETINAL project is part of a broader initiative in the area of health care and prevention of Non-Communicable Chronic Diseases (NCDs), based on the scientific evidence that some systemic diseases cause changes in the micro-vasculature of the retina. The retina is the only part of the human body where blood vessels can be observed directly in a non-invasive manner by examining the ocular fundus.
The idea under this initiative is to facilitate the early diagnosis of diseases by examining the anatomical structure of the retina and to enable timely management and effective treatments, having a great impact in the individuals’ health and wellbeing and saving a great amount of money to health systems and the overall economy. For this purpose, ULMA Embedded Solutions (UES) has developed non-invasive and cost-effective ICT tools (U-RETINAL) for automatic quantification of retinal parameters and automatic detection of lesions of the retina, which can be used in health interventions delivered through primary health-care centres to strengthen early detection and timely treatment of various diseases. U-RETINAL is a comprehensive solution for ophthalmic imaging analysis composed of:
1) A simple, reliable and cost-effective digital fundus camera (U-RETINAL DFC)
2) An extensible set of software modules for specific clinical applications:
• U-RETINAL AVR is already available, but only for research purposes, since more scientific evidence is needed before its adoption in clinical practice (to screen population for early detection of NCDs).
• U-RETINAL DR is already available and ready to be introduced into the market.
• Other modules will be developed in the short-term.
Our solution is based on:
1) The U-RETINAL Digital Fundus Camera, which is economic, easy to use, portable, and non-mydriatic. These features make possible:
• To perform the screening for Diabetic Retinopathy (DR) in the regular visits of patients to the physician for diabetic care, because U-RETINAL DFC cost is affordable for primary health centers, and it is reliable and simple to use by general practitioners or nurses.
• To overcome some patients concerns about the potentially adverse effects of pharmacological drops and ensure a better compliance of patients, since U-RETINAL DFC is a non-mydriatic fundus camera, which means that no pharmacological drops are needed for capturing the retinal images. Non-mydriatic retinal digital photography has demonstrated a good performance for the purpose of DR screening.
2) The software module U-RETINAL DR for automatic detection of the presence of DR, which allows:
• To make DR screening cost-effective and more agile.
• To provide immediate feedback to patients about the presence or absence of DR, which is another important factor to achieve high rates of DR screening follow-up.
Our ambition as a company is to change the current paradigms in the clinical/medical practice through the development and introduction into the market of ICT tools for the early diagnosis of several diseases which cause changes in the microvasculature of the retina, with the aim of improving efficacy of treatment of chronic diseases that affect a wide population worldwide, and therefore improving health and quality of life of patients. “We pursue the creation of new paradigms in medical practice for breaking current barriers”. Our goals are:
1) To modify current manual systems in medical practice by introducing ICT tools more accurate and efficient.
2) To gain the recognition of the ULMA Trademark in the medical sector, as a high-qualified technological provider which exceeds customers expectative.
3) To be a market reference in Europe by achieving a high impact in the efficacy and efficiency of DRS Programmes. We pursue that 70% of diabetic population are screened for retinopathy with our DR screening tools in the next years in Europe.
4) Our goal is to enter other markets taking advantage of our position in Europe and to achieve similar impact in the health systems in those markets.
