Lumedica Vision Ranked Third Most Fundable Company in America

Posted on

DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA – Lumedica Inc., a privately held company focused on improving access to eye care by creating low-cost, high performance, Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) systems for research and clinical applications, was awarded Third Place in Pepperdine University’s Graziado Business School annual survey of the Most Fundable Companies. 

Over 3,500 early-stage companies were evaluated as part of the survey in 2019. Winning companies were chosen based on the viability of their business model, size of addressable market, management team expertise, board of advisors, and competitive advantage in their market.

During the final stages, high potential companies were invited for an interview with our selection team and the winners are announced. 

Lumedica Vision’s presentation focused on the viability of their patented, low-cost eye disease screening device which uses Optical Coherence Tomography, or OCT. OCT is currently the gold standard screening tool for retinal eye diseases, but remains out of reach for many health providers worldwide. Lumedica’s affordable, accurate eye-screening device will be affordable, easy-to-use and help prevent blindness in under-served populations worldwide.

“We’re so grateful for the recognition by the team at the Graziado Business School and find others getting as excited as we are about the trajectory of our company and technologies,” said Lumedica Vision founder, Dr. Adam Wax. “It’s also been very constructive to receive feedback from members of the entrepreneurial and investment experts.”

A complete list of winners was published in Entrepreneur Magazine’s December 2019 Issue.

About Lumedica

Lumedica is comprised of believers and builders of affordable healthcare technologies. With a proven track record in scientific innovation and product development, Lumedica creates affordable light-based scientific and medical instruments that deliver accurate diagnostic results.

Leveraging off-the-shelf and custom imaging components, Lumedica is able to make diagnostic devices cheaper, more durable, and easier to distribute. Our first initiative is building a novel, patented device to administer OCT (Optical Coherence Tomography) technology — the gold standard for retinal imaging — to detect chronic, asymptomatic eye diseases. The company was founded in 2014 based on research conducted at Duke University’s BIOS Laboratory. Other technologies and innovations are in the development pipeline.

For media inquiries, contact info@lumedicasystems.com

Results of First Clinical Study of Low-Cost Retinal OCT Published

Posted on

We’ve known since Lumedica’s founding that the low-cost OCT would be an effective and efficient alternative to the currently expensive Optical Coherence Tomography systems currently available for screening eye diseases. Now, Lumedica’s founder and Chief Science Officer, Dr. Adam Wax, has documented the results of a jointly-conducted clinical study between Duke and UNC that compared the OQ LabScope OCT system to a standard Heidelberg OCT system that is already on the market.

The conclusion: “The images captured with the low-cost OCT were of adequate resolution and allowed for clinical diagnostics. It offers comparable performance as a retinal screening tool at a fraction of the cost of current commercial systems.”

Dr. Wax was quoted in a statement released by Duke University, “Once you have lost vision, it’s very difficult to get it back, so the key to preventing blindness is early detection,” said Adam Wax, professor of biomedical engineering at Duke. “Our goal is to make OCT drastically less expensive so more clinics can afford the devices, especially in global health settings.”

News of this OCT cost breakthrough has been picked up by many outlets:

Science Daily
The Engineer
News Medical
EurekAlert
MediBulletin
Physics World
Novus Light Technology Today
Medical Daily

Lumedica Receives $1M Phase II NIH-SBIR Grant

Posted on

DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA – Lumedica Inc., a privately held company, focused on improving access to eye care by creating low-cost, high performance, Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) systems  for research and clinical applications, received a $1M Phase II NIH-NEI SBIR grant in order to continue system and product development.    OCT is considered the gold standard for early detection of Macular Degeneration, Diabetic Retinopathy and Glaucoma, all of which can occur without symptoms. When these diseases are detected early — such as with OCT — they can be managed without patients losing their vision.

SBIR-grant-Art“We are grateful for the ongoing support from the NIH-NEI, said Principal Investigator and Lumedica’s Chief Technology Officer, Dr. William Brown. “OCT technology is already a valuable screening tool for many ophthalmologists and optometrists in the U.S. Sadly, the high cost of current commercially available systems has kept it out of the hands of most the world’s eye care providers and patients. We’re going to change that.”

Collaborating with the Duke University Pratt School of Engineering, Lumedica has demonstrated that its system is highly effective at a more affordable price point while enabling providers greater clinical flexibility.  The Phase II grant will allow Lumedica to further develop a device for the clinical market.

OCT is the light-equivalent to sonar, in that it sends out a signal, which is then reflected back into the system, allowing distance to be measured between layers of tissue or other surfaces. To date, its most valuable application is in the imaging of the layers of the retina, where eye diseases that cause blindness are found.

About Lumedica

Lumedica is comprised of believers and builders of affordable healthcare technologies. With a proven track record in scientific innovation and product development, Lumedica creates affordable light-based scientific and medical instruments that deliver accurate diagnostic results.

Leveraging off-the-shelf and custom imaging components, Lumedica is able to make diagnostic devices cheaper, more durable, and easier to distribute. Our first initiative is building a novel, patented device to administer OCT (Optical Coherence Tomography) technology — the gold standard for retinal imaging — to detect chronic, asymptomatic eye diseases. The company was founded in 2014 based on research conducted at Duke University’s BIOS Laboratory. Other technologies and innovations are in the development pipeline.

For media inquiries, contact info@lumedicasystems.com

Lumedica Vision Awarded $250K in 2019 Luminate Accelerator Program

Posted on

ROCHESTER, NEW YORK — The Upstate New York economic development program, “Luminate,” which helps incubate and invest in optical technology startups, awarded Lumedica Vision third place in its 2019 competition, which includes a $250,000 funding offer. The ceremony marked the end of an intense six-month business development program in which the Luminate/NextCorp team provided hands-on guidance for ten competing startups. Of the four companies awarded funds, Lumedica Vision was the only company based outside of New York to win an award. The Luminate program delivered invaluable business guidance in a range of critical areas, including commercialization and manufacturing, pricing, distribution and valuable connections to the optical investment community.

 

“We’re so grateful,” said key participant and Lumedica Vision CEO Geoffrey Metcalf. “This has been an incredible journey. It’s been an honor to be among the ten companies enrolled in this program. We’ve all learned so much, not just from the Luminate mentors, but also from each other. It’s amazing to see how much we’ve all grown as a result of this process. We hope to continue to be a part of Rochester’s re-vitalized optical technology community.”

Said Founder and Chief Science Officer, Dr. Adam Wax, “We’re honored, excited and so grateful to have been invited to participate in this program. We learned a tremendous amount and this award helps us move closer to achieving our mission of detecting and preventing blindness around the world.”

For press inquiries, please contact info@lumedicasystems.com.

About Lumedica Vision

Lumedica Vision creates affordable light-based scientific medical instruments that deliver accurate diagnostic results.

Leveraging off-the-shelf and custom imaging components, Lumedica Vision is able to make diagnostic devices cheaper, more durable, and easier to distribute. Our first initiative is building a novel, patented device to administer OCT (Optical Coherence Tomography) technology — the gold standard for retinal imaging — to detect chronic, asymptomatic eye diseases. A division of Lumedica, the company was founded in 2014 based on research conducted at Duke University’s BIOS Laboratory. Other technologies and innovations are in the development pipeline.

For media inquiries, contact info@lumedicasystems.com