A new level of insight into therapy planning for neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) patients is on the horizon with Heidelberg Engineering and deepeye Medical’s collaboration, following three years of joint development.
deepeye TPS (Therapy Planning Support) for anti-VEGF therapy is expected to soon achieve full CE marking, following a year of beta testing and successful collaborations with research partners, including Heidelberg Engineering, Bayer, Novartis, and Roche.
The AI-powered solution, developed by German healthtech company deepeye Medical, leverages predictive analytics to enhance therapeutic decision making for ophthalmologists, with the aim of improving patient outcomes and increasing therapy adherence.
Professor Albrecht Lommatzsch, co-owner of the Eye Centre at St Franziskus-Hospital Münster and Second Chairman of the German Retina Society, has been an early adopter of the technology.
“We have been testing deepeye TPS in practice for a year with several hundred cases. The seamless integration with Heyex 2 (Heidelberg Engineering’s image management platform) saves us time in OCT (optical coherence tomography) assessment and case documentation,” said Prof Lommatzsch.
“For our tele-ophthalmic network (IVI portal) with over 60 practices, it was crucial that the AI assistant supports all OCT device manufacturers. With the approval as a medical device, we will soon be able to fully exploit the advantages of deepeye.”
He added, “Personally, I particularly appreciate the possibility of informing patients and relatives more easily about the expected treatment burden thanks to visualisation and initial therapy prognosis, thus reducing the associated stress and improving adherence.”
The AI-powered solution… leverages predictive analytics to enhance therapeutic decision making for ophthalmologists
Ten Years in Development
The technology was developed using insights gathered from more than one million retinal images from thousands of patients across 200 centres during a 10-year period. It is specifically designed to assist eye care specialists in therapy planning for patients with nAMD and has the potential to optimise management strategies, leading to more informed treatment decisions.
deepeye Medical emerged from one of the world’s first tele-ophthalmic networks (IVI Portal Franziskus Münster), where expert reviews of other ophthalmologists’ OCT readings tripled outcomes (3x visual acuity) and doubled retention (2x persistence) compared to other real-world studies.
Manuel Opitz, CEO of deepeye Medical, explained the company’s approach: “Our AI mimics this proven clinical method of double reading that is widely established in radiology or mammography to empower all ophthalmologists to personalise treatment faster, driving outcomes and adherence.
“With Heidelberg AppWay we are set to empower retina specialists with data-driven insights to optimise therapy planning. Better patient outcomes and economically viable practices are the objective,” Mr Opitz added.
