Open Innovation of ZEISS and the Advanced Retina Imaging Network advances Swept-Source OCT technology for better vision care

Dublin/California/USA | Carl Zeiss Meditec AG

The collaboration of the Advanced Retina Imaging (ARI) Network, a global consortium of renowned clinical researchers, and the Medical Technology business group of ZEISS is opening new insights into retinal disease and driving the development of new OCT technology to advance patient care today and in the future. At ARVO 2017, ZEISS demonstrates new Swept-Source OCT and OCT Angiography technology, which was developed through its Open Innovation approach, to support researchers in their quest for new clinical applications for diseases affecting the retina.

At this year’s ARVO (Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology) 2017 Annual Meeting, ZEISS is releasing a number of significant advancements to its PLEX Elite¹ 9000 Swept-Source OCT and OCT Angiography platform which were developed through ZEISS’ Open Innovation approach with the A R I Network. ZEISS will be demonstrating the potential of Swept-Source OCT with 200kHz technology; anterior segment OCT angiography; and new software for advanced vascular assessment for diseases such as Diabetic Retinopathy (DR) and Retinal Vein Occlusion (RVO). In addition to unveiling the widest field of view captured in a single OCT Angiography scan, the new Swept-Source technology from ZEISS will showcase the ability to rapidly acquire Ultra-Wide OCT Angiography montage for unprecedented visualization of retinal vasculature with up to a 70 degree field of view.

PLEX Elite 9000 from ZEISS, a powerful Swept-Source OCT and OCT Angiography platform, is offered as the clinical research technology at the core of the A R I Network. This technology allows the potential to see deeper, wider and in more detail from the vitreous to the sclera in the posterior segment. Each PLEX Elite imaging system in the A R I Network is maintained at the cutting edge with iterative technology upgrades which are developed through Open Innovation with the A R I Network, giving A R I Network members access to the latest innovations in retinal imaging technology.

The A R I Network is focused on exploring new clinical applications for the diagnosis and treatment of eye disease and through Open Innovation with ZEISS is advancing OCT innovation for clinical research and for daily ophthalmic practice. Since the launch of the A R I Network at the ARVO 2016 Annual Meeting, the consortium of clinicians at the forefront of retinal research will expand to over 200 clinical collaboration sites. Philip J. Rosenfeld, M.D., Ph.D., Chairman of the A R I Network, has formed a Steering Committee, consisting of sixteen of the world’s most distinguished retinal specialists, to guide the A R I Network’s clinical discovery agenda and to lead the A R I Network’s collaboration with the scientists at ZEISS to advance technology to support members in their work.

“ZEISS’ Swept-Source OCT and OCT Angiography platform is truly a remarkable breakthrough in our quest to achieve better, wider, deeper, and faster imaging of the retina and choroid. This technology opens up a new world of structural and microvascular clarity,” says Dr. Rosenfeld, Chairman of the A R I Network. “This collaboration between the retina experts in the A R I Network and the engineers and scientists at ZEISS is vital to the advancement of retinal and choroidal imaging and scientific discovery.”

“The A R I Network leverages the power of numbers with impressive global information sharing between top academic institutes allowing large studies with a higher number of patients than the usual collaboration with one or two centers,” says Nadia Waheed, M.D, M.P.H, Associate Professor of Ophthalmology at Tufts Medical School and Director of the Boston Image Reading Center. “Plus through the Network, ZEISS responds to our study needs by developing new clinical tools to identify and quantify data and provides access to the highest quality imaging technology which is imperative for studying AMD, particularly dry AMD.”

“ZEISS has been the vanguard of OCT innovation since ZEISS introduced the first commercially available ophthalmic OCT in 1996. Now ZEISS is pushing the boundaries of traditional innovation methods with our Open Innovation approach which is rapidly advancing Swept Source technology,” says Jim Mazzo, Global President Ophthalmic Devices at Carl Zeiss Meditec. “This new prototype Swept Source OCT platform promises to provide even faster, deeper and higher definition scans than ever before helping researchers open new doors of discovery.”

“We are honored to collaborate with the members of the A R I Network to continually advance innovation in support of their work in understanding eye diseases,” says Dr. Ludwin Monz, President and CEO of Carl Zeiss Meditec. “Collaboration is at the heart of ZEISS’ innovation process, Open Innovation with the rapid exchange of ideas and insights between researchers around the world and the scientists at ZEISS is helping fuel scientific discovery and accelerate technology development which may change vision care as we know it for the benefit of patients today and tomorrow.”

ZEISS Medical Technology will be exhibiting at the ARVO 2017 Annual Meeting in Baltimore, Booth 3615.