What began as a local project on A/Prof Simon Skalicky’s computer is now being rolled out globally. Could this change the game for glaucoma management?
Associate Professor Simon Skalicky has had a front row seat to the frustrations patients with glaucoma face.
But instead of lamenting the standard of care, the Melbourne-based ophthalmologist, sub-specialising in glaucoma and cataract, sought to change it, culminating in an Australian MedTech success story that’s making ripples in almost two dozen countries.
In 2019, he founded Eyeonic, a quantified perimetry test using any computer or tablet, through a web-based application.
By improving the patient experience, ease of sharing data and democratising access to this vital technology, he believes online visual field testing is the future of glaucoma diagnosis and management.
Eyeonic’s test has been approved by the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) as a perimeter for in-clinic and at-home use, with more than 13,000 tests already performed in more than 20 countries.
A/Prof Skalicky says it has been scientifically validated in Australia and overseas, with similar diagnostic performance and progression analysis to standard visual field machines. It has 24-2, 10-2, 30-2 protocols, as well as a binocular driving licence screening test and a monocular pilot licence test.
Early in his career, he recognised the challenges of traditional visual field testing on machines – patients found these stressful and uncomfortable, a potential impediment to regular glaucoma monitoring.
He wondered if visual field testing could be performed in an easier, more intuitive way.
“My journey led me to the world of programming, deployment and cybersecurity, all ably supported by experts from Microsoft. As the project grew and supportive colleagues became involved, we quickly realised the many other benefits; namely streamlining perimetry in contemporary clinics, expanding glaucoma services to remote and regional communities, and glaucoma home monitoring with telehealth,” says A/Prof Skalicky, whose academic work is conducted at the University of Melbourne.
“Online perimetry helps our eyecare services cope with increasing demand and a tightening health budget, to achieve worthwhile aims of democratising healthcare access and creating sustainable care models, while at the same time reducing costs for clinicians and patients alike.”
Eyeonic has raised capital and today involves a team of business and tech experts, as well as collaborations with major institutes in Australia and globally.
“The journey has been rewarding, fun, with many challenges – clinical research and supervision, programming and deployment, team building and project management, developing quality systems, achieving regulatory approval, commercial development, marketing, financing and sales,” A/Prof Skalicky says.
“Entrepreneurship is not always easy but is required to drive meaningful reform.”
Eyeonic’s online visual field test works by integrating the fundamentals of traditional perimetry into a web-based browser experience. It uses large flickering contrast targets designed for consistency across different screen displays to assess sensitivity thresholds at 52 loci across the visual field.
To achieve standardisation, the software resizes and repositions the targets based on the size of the screen and informs the user the correct viewing distance. The correct viewing distance is ensured by locating the blind spot and maintained by utilising AI to measure the head position relative to the screen. Verbal instructions guide the user through a user-friendly and intuitive test that lasts two to five minutes, with multilingual options.
With eight publications in the international literature and numerous scientific presentations globally, A/Prof Skalicky says the software has been well validated with similar performance to traditional machine-
perimetry.
What began as a local project from his computer and in his rooms, is now deployed and used internationally.
He says the uptake is “humbling” – in India, for example, the software is being piloted by three major health institutes: All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), LVPrasad Eye Institute and Shroff Eye Hospital.
The project has also been recognised by AusTrade and the Australian High Commission (Delhi) as an important Indian/Australian healthcare partnership. Eyeonic has been awarded the AIIMS medal for its collaborative work to help manage patient backlogs and reduce need for remote communities to travel many hours for testing.
“I believe that online visual field testing, over time, will become the clinical standard for perimetry globally,” A/Prof Skalicky says. “The improved user experience, reduced cost and maintenance, easy networking with electronic medical record systems, provision for out-of-clinic testing and data sharing between centres will bring advantages in line with the needs of modern eyecare delivery.”
NOTE: In Australia and New Zealand the Eyeonic Online Visual Field Test is distributed by OphthalmoPro. For further information, visit: www.eyeonic.com.au.
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