Aegis Ventures and Northwell Holdings, announced a seed investment of $12M to launch Optain, an artificial intelligence (AI) company enabling early detection and disease prevention through retinal imaging.
Optain is the first company Aegis and Northwell have launched through Ascertain, their AI company creation partnership. Ascertain was created in 2022, to combine medical, technology, data, and business resources in a company creation platform to address healthcare challenges.
Optain utilises emerging AI technologies to analyse information obtained through a retinal camera to screen for and diagnose a multitude of chronic and acute conditions. Although the brand is new to the U.S, its origins can be traced back to Australian-founded company Eyetelligence, which launched in 2019. The company offers clinically validated and regulated products, including screening tools for diabetic retinopathy, age-related macular degeneration and glaucoma.
The Ascertain team's goal is to facilitate and accelerate the availability of Optain’s capabilities among U.S payers and providers. Northwell Health, one of the ten largest health systems in the U.S, will be Optain’s flagship customer.
"By harnessing the tremendous insight that can be gained through retinal scanning, and combining that with innovative AI, Optain's technology represents enormous potential to improve the manner and timeliness in which we can diagnose and treat disease, said Richard Braunstein, MD, Senior Vice President and Executive Director of Ophthalmology at Northwell Health. "We believe that leveraging Northwell's clinical expertise, data assets and vast clinical footprint positions us well to refine and advance such groundbreaking solutions and improve the treatment and care of patients."
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