Toku Eyes founder Dr Ehsan Vaghefi says his company’s AI software can analyse eye images faster than a human clinician and pick up things they might miss.
Auckland-based Toku Eyes seems poised to make it big in North America following a US$8 million ($13m) Series A raise involving two of the biggest players in the US optometry market.
Toku Eyes makes AI-powered software that analyses scans of the back of your eye. Because your eye is transparent, it’s one of the easiest ways to get a picture of your veins – and changing colour or shape that indicates a heightened risk of type 2 diabetes, a stroke or cardiovascular problems.
The idea is to not just scan for diabetes-related preventable blindness, but give you a picture of your overall health.
Toku founder Associate Professor Ehsan Vaghefi says a cardiovascular checkup would ordinarily entail a trip to your GP, then a referral to a specialist as you navigate an often jammed health system. He sees Toku Eyes’ platform being available in every optometrist in every mall, making it faster, cheaper and easier to get a snapshot of your cardiovascular health.
The funding round was led by Nasdaq-listed National Vision (market cap: $1.6 billion), the second biggest optical retailer in the US, and Japan’s Topcon Healthcare – a Japanese firm that’s one of the world’s larger makers of eye examination instruments….
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By: Chris Keall
