OcuSciences
was formed to commercialize a technology that can non-invasively
detect retinal and metabolic diseases, such as diabetes or age-related
macular degeneration, at an earlier stage than currently possible and
before irreversible cell damage occurs. OcuSciences plans to
establish the OcuMet BeaconTM
as a standard method for detection and monitoring of retinal and
metabolic diseases in primary eye care practices throughout the world.
OcuSciences
will focus first on early detection of diabetes and pre-diabetes and
the monitoring of disease progression due to retinal cell
damage. Currently, most adults do not get screened regularly for
diabetes due to the cumbersome nature of existing screening methods, as
they are invasive, require fasting and involve blood draws. Thus, there
are over 8 million undiagnosed diabetics in the US (26.5M total) and
over 45 million undiagnosed pre-diabetics (57M total). As most adults
visit a primary eye care practice for reading glasses starting at the
age of 40, primary eye care is a perfect initial venue for screening
for diabetes.
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