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Narberth-based EyeIC’s MatchedFlicker technology will help eye doctors see clearly in glaucoma cases

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EyeIC, a small startup based in the Philadelphia suburb of Narberth, has big ambitions with its patented MatchedFlicker technology, a specialized software tool that animates two retinal images taken at different times from the same patient so eye doctors can see and document any changes.
 
The technology could be a giant leap forward in glaucoma monitoring. Currently, the primary method of tracking the advent and development of glaucoma is to have trained experts compare separate pairs of stereo photos side by side–a time-consuming process that makes it difficult to find and document changes between images.
 
But MatchedFlicker employs a process similar to flicker chronoscopy, which has been used in astronomy since the 1920s, whereby two photos are exactly matched and then animated so that any changes appear as motion. EyeIC has found a way to apply this process to retinal images.
 
“Retinal photographs are feature poor, so they are hard to match,” explains EyeIC CEO Ira Wallace. “But we’ve found an algorithm that will match them very well and very accurately.”
 
With MatchedFlicker, eye doctors can also takes notes and document changes directly on the images, save them and send them to colleagues.
 
Last month, EyeIC received clearance from the FDA to market the software and plans to begin selling it to U.S. doctors in July with a European launch planned for this fall.
 
The company, founded in 2004, completed a $1.9 million funding round last November from MentorTech Ventures, Ben Franklin Technology Partners and private investors.
 
EyeIC expects to have a commercial product that fully integrates into the current workflow of an eye doctor’s office by July. The company, which currently employs five people, is planning to expand and could double its number of employees in the next 12 to 18 months, according to Wallace.
 
Source: Ira Wallace, CEO of EyeIC
Writer: John Davidson
 
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