NEW YORK, May 9, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Today Ascertain, a revolutionary collaboration between Aegis Ventures and Northwell Holdings, announced a seed funding round to launch Optain, an artificial intelligence company that enables early identification and disease prevention through retinal imaging.

The eye can act as a window to an individual's health, but for far too long, non-invasive diagnostics and screenings using the eye have not been available to healthcare providers. Traditional diagnostic methods are often expensive, hard-to-access, and slow; Optain utilizes emerging AI technology that analyzes information obtained from a simple retinal camera to screen for and diagnose multiple chronic and acute conditions, ranging from ophthalmological to cardiovascular or neurological – all in real-time.

With this $12 million investment, Optain is the first company launched by Ascertain, Aegis Ventures and Northwell Holdings' collaboration to develop healthcare AI companies at scale. Ascertain was created in April 2022 to combine leading medical, technology, data and business resources in a company creation platform that addresses healthcare's most challenging quality, equity, and cost problems.
"The healthcare industry has made a concerted effort in recent years to shift treatment from reactive sick-care to proactive preventive care, but many of the legacy screening and diagnostic technologies used by clinicians today are expensive and inaccessible," said Jeff Dunkel, CEO of Optain. "Optain will accelerate that shift and make preventive care ubiquitous by placing smarter, faster, and more efficient diagnostic tools in the hands of clinicians everywhere."

"The most immediate opportunity for impact is within ophthalmology," Dunkel adds. "Optain's first goal is to expand access to screenings and diagnosis for preventable eye disease, closing critical health equity gaps, particularly in underserved communities where diagnostic and screening tools aren't available."

While brand new to the United States, Optain's roots can be traced back to the Australian-founded company Eyetelligence, which launched in 2019. Eyetelligence is based on the inventions of Professor Mingguang He, a leading clinician-scientist at the University of Melbourne and Centre for Eye Research Australia. The company has developed a suite of clinically validated and regulatory-approved AI products commercialized in the Australian, New Zealand, European, Japanese and Middle Eastern markets. In addition, Eyetelligence's products are being implemented in two of the largest retail eyecare chains in Australia.

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