Icare, a manufacturer of ophthalmic diagnostic equipment used by many in Australia, has acquired Dutch firm Thirona Retina B.V. and its artificial intelligence software that screens for eye disease.
Icare, a subsidiary of Revenio Group Corporation, made a minority investment of €1.9 million (AU$3.1m) in Thirona Retina in 2023. It has now acquired the remaining shares for €4.8m (AU$7.8m).
Icare’s ophthalmic diagnostic solutions include fundus imaging devices, perimeters, clinical software and its popular tonometers.
A media release announcing the acquisition said the move “advances Revenio’s growth strategy as part of its mission to improve the quality of ophthalmic diagnostics through innovative products and solutions”.
Thirona Retina’s leading RetCAD product uses AI to screen fundus images for diseases, including diabetic retinopathy, age-related macular degeneration, and glaucoma. Leveraging AI, large amounts of data can be processed quickly and accurately.
RetCAD is already part of the iCare ILLUME retinal screening tool that has been “extremely well received by customers across Europe and the Asia-Pacific”, Revenio said.
“Our iCare ILLUME screening solution helps detect increasingly common eye diseases and their severity. This acquisition strengthens our ability to further develop our AI-based ophthalmic solutions,” said Mr Jouni Toijala, chief executive of Revenio Group.
“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 eyecare 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. We want to deliver a comprehensive AI-based eye health solution to meet the needs of all our customers.”
Toijala also referenced the 2021 acquisition of Australian ophthalmic e-referral platform Oculo. With Oculo’s cloud-based software platform and its team, he said Revenio had developed a comprehensive retinal screening now incorporating the fully automated iCare DRSplus fundus imaging system, iCare ILLUME software platform, and RetCAD AI.
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