Icare Finland, a subsidiary of Revenio Group, has completed the acquisition of the artificial intelligence (AI) software company Thirona Retina B.V. The acquisition will help Revenio achieve its aim “to deliver a comprehensive AI-based eye health solution to meet the needs of all our customers”.
There is a growing need for innovative eye care, given the increasing prevalence of eye diseases worldwide due to aging and the growing prevalence of chronic diseases, combined with the static number of eye care professionals and healthcare cost pressures.
Icare already distributes Thirona Retina’s leading RetCAD product as part of its ILLUME retinal screening solution. RetCAD screens fundus images for diseases, including diabetic retinopathy, age-related macular degeneration, and glaucoma. With AI, it processes large amounts of data quickly and accurately, speeding up the screening process and streamlining the work of healthcare professionals. RetCAD’s clinical performance has been repeatedly validated by independent clinical studies.
Jouni Toijala, CEO of Revenio Group, said the acquisition of Thirona Retina will strengthen the company’s ability to further develop AI-based ophthalmic solutions.
“We see that AI will increasingly be integrated into a wide range of products. With the addition of Thirona Retina, we are better positioned to develop other AI-based solutions for eye care to support clinical decision-making. Thirona Retina will continue to sell RetCAD artificial intelligence solution to other vendors in the industry. We will also continue our previous cooperations with other artificial intelligence providers.
“With the acquisition of Oculo in 2021, we gained a state-of-the-art software platform and a skilled team. With the help of Oculo’s cloud-based software platform and the team, we have developed a unique, comprehensive retinal screening solution that includes the fully automated and fast iCare DRSplus fundus imaging system, iCare ILLUME software platform, and RetCAD AI,” said Mr Toijala.
Mark van Grinsven, Managing Director of Thirona Retina, described the acquisition as “a significant milestone in our journey to revolutionise ophthalmic image analysis through artificial intelligence”.
“By combining our cutting-edge AI medical device, RetCAD, with iCare’s extensive expertise in the ophthalmic domain, we are poised to provide access to better eye care to large numbers of patients on a global scale. We will continue to cooperate with our existing customers with even stronger resources. We are excited to embark on this new chapter and look forward to the impactful advancements we will achieve together.”
Icare made a minority investment of EUR 1.9 million in Thirona Retina in 2023 and has acquired the remaining share capital of Thirona Retina for approximately EUR 4.8 million.
