Forus Health launches 3nethra NEO, a Retinopathy of Prematurity imaging platform

A medical devices company has launched an imaging platform to fight against Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP), an eye condition that could cause blindness in premature babies.

Forus Health Private Limited, a medical devices company, have announced the launch of its Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP) imaging platform - 3nethra NEO. ROP is the leading cause of blindness in infants in the world that afflicts premature babies that causes abnormal blood vessels to grow in the retina. In India 1 out of 3 babies born less than 2000 gm develops the disease, and 10% of the babies will turn blind at the age of 2 months if not treated on time.

Over million babies are born prematurely in India every year, and there are less than 100 ROP specialists nationwide to screen and treat this condition. K.Chandrasekhar, Founder & CEO of Forus Health said, '3nethra NEO is a result of our continued efforts in building affordable and state of the art imaging solutions for eye care.'(Read: Eyes help researchers see progression of Alzheimer s even before onset of symptoms)

'3nethra Neo is the most affordable ROP imaging device with an integrated telemedicine platform that helps in remote diagnosis. The device costs one-fourth of its nearest competitor. We have four design patents for this product. This not only protects our design but also makes it far superior 'says Dr.Shyam Vasudeva Rao , Founder & Director Forus Health.

'We designed 3nethra NEO to be a light weight and compact wide-angle imaging device. It has skilfully designed optics, natural ergonomic grip for easy holding and its high reliability enhanced by a unique focusing and illumination system makes it an ideal choice for neonatal ICUs' says Padmanabha Holla, Co-Founder & VP-New Products.

Forus Health collaborated with Narayana Nethralaya for development and clinical validation of 3nethra neo. 'We have been involved in the development of the NEO as a clinical partner under a prestigious Department of Biotechnology grant. Through our KIDROP outreach program, we have just concluded a multi-center trial in rural and semi-urban NICU s across the state and the results are very promising. (Read: 6 things you should NEVER put in your eyes)

The portability of the device and the wide-field capability are very useful in a telemedicine setting' said Dr Anand Vinekar, Program Director of KIDROP and the Principal Investigator of the Neo Trial. Dr Bhujang Shetty, Chairman, Narayana Nethralaya, said,' NN is privileged to validate this made-in-India camera. Our state Government has witnessed a demonstration of the device and are following the progress very keenly. Prof. R V Azad, former Chief of RP Center, New Delhi on the occasion said that 'ROP has become an epidemic of childhood blindness in India.

We need affordable tools to detect the disease at the early stage to prevent blindness. Being affordable, low cost infant cameras like the Neo will enhance the accessibility of ROP screening in remote areas of other states on the model of Karnataka' Prof Mangat Dogra, PGIMER, Chandigarh, a co-investigator of the clinical trial, noted, 'during the evaluation of the study images we found that the quality was comparable to the currently used imported camera'. (Read: 6 daily habits that harm your eyes)

Press release

Image source: Getty images (Image for representational purpose only)