BulbiEYE - One device, a suite of ophthalmological and neurological tests

Eye diseases and neurological disorders are a growing public health problem in a globally aging population. Neurological diseases such as Parkinson's, MS, Alzheimer's or eye diseases such as glaucoma and cataracts, or eye damage due to diabetes, affects close to one billion people worldwide. Many of these diseases are known to have malfunctions in eye and pupil movements, which often are signs that can occur before the disease can be detected with advanced imaging technology or medical equipment. Bulbitech introduces a new product to the market, by measuring eye and pupil movements. With the camera technology in a self-developed VR glass, Bulbitech's goal is to be able to detect eye disease and neurological problems at an early stage. The examinations provide an accurate, reliable, and cost-effective system for measurements and analysis of the eye and its nervous system. The analysis help doctors in mapping diseases. With early diagnosis, doctors will be able to start treatment earlier. This improves patients' quality of life and prevents the disease from developing, which in turn reduces the financial burden on healthcare. The main goal of the project is to conduct medical research to prove the technology's function and improve it. The project focuses on developing automatic tests that are currently performed manually and assessed subjectively. There are many measured parameters in the device that have the potential to become so-called "biomarkers" for disease. These are units of measurement that tell something about possible underlying malfunctions in the body, and which can be a sign of illness. In a clinical research project in collaboration with the eye department at Ullevål, the neurology department at Rikshospitalet and Helgeland Hospital, Bulbitech will clinically validate the product. The project will define, and scientifically describe all the units of measurements in the device. One will also try to see how treatment affects eye and pupil functions.

-

Neuro-ophthalmic disorders are an emerging public health concern, especially considering the aging population. Also, neurological diseases such as Parkinson disease, Alzheimer disease and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, which affect up to one billion people worldwide, are known to have ocular manifestations that often precede its conventional diagnosis. Advanced ocular imaging technologies are recognized as a valuable strategy for earlier diagnosis of these diseases, significantly improving patients’ quality of life and reducing the economic burden to healthcare systems. Bulbitech (BT) aims at introducing a revolutionary product in the market to automate and digitize eye tests, providing an accurate, reliable, intuitive, and cost-effective system for standard-of-care screening of neuro-ophthalmic diseases. The primary objective of BulbiEYE is to position the BulbiCAM and its eye tracking tests as a diagnostic support tool for the early detection of neuro-ophthalmic diseases. BulbiEYE will focus on developing and integrating automated sensorimotor tests, clinically validating its performance and evaluating the potential of BT’s technology for the identification of candidate biomarkers for neurological conditions. This project brings with it the following R&D challenges: 1) Identification of clinical test requirements to assure standardization and reduce the variability of traditional manual assessments, 2) Definition of the exact parameters to be generated by BT’s technology and assessed by clinicians, 3) Combination of different eye care tests with distinct elements into one diagnostic device and 4) Deployment of self-learning algorithms to detect early-stage dysfunctions and predict neurological diseases with unprecedent levels of accuracy. The R&D outcome of BulbiEYE will be an expanded base of neuro-ophthalmic tests integrated into the fastest clinically available eye tracker, and a library of biomarkers for early detection of neuropathology in the eye.