Heidelberg Engineering and Orbis extend collaboration

Heidelberg Engineering has extended its collaboration with the nonprofit, Orbis, to make educational content accessible for eye care professionals and advance research.

The announcement was made on a visit of the Orbis Flying Eye Hospital during its latest programme in Kigali, Rwanda.

Through a new clinical project in Lusaka, Zambia, Heidelberg Engineering will deploy its Anterion imaging platform to support patient pre-op imaging and to generate data-driven evidence required for the integration of optical biometry into routine cataract surgery protocols.

Kfir Azoulay, managing director of Heidelberg Engineering, said: “With the launch of the new clinical programme in Lusaka, Zambia, Orbis and Heidelberg Engineering aim to support more equitable, democratised access to advanced eye care.”

Heidelberg Engineering will seek to document improvements in surgical outcomes through high-resolution imaging and precise preoperative measurements.

Azoulay added: “At the same time, we will gather data from traditionally underserved populations to help address algorithmic bias in artificial intelligence systems that too often overlook patients in remote or emerging economy settings. It is our joint aspiration to foster more inclusive innovation and ensure clinicians everywhere have the tools to deliver the best possible care.”

The collaboration builds on a partnership in 2024 which saw Heidelberg Engineering fund four webinars, joined more than 2000 times by practitioners, and support Orbis research into retinoblastoma.

Dr Hunter Cherwek, vice president, clinical services and technologies, at Orbis International, reflected: “Orbis was founded on combining innovation and ophthalmology. And we still do that today with our work at the confluence of technology and training. I love how much the field of ophthalmology has grown and how Orbis is globalising that technology, whether its artificial intelligence, telemedicine, or distance learning.”

Cherwek highlighted that the two companies are similar in their approach of working to improve patient outcomes, care, and physician training: “We both recognise that it takes a team to deliver the best eye care, so both of us work on team training.”

The conversation between Azoulay and Cherwek covering Orbis’ telemedicine and e-learning platform, the impact of new technologies, and the Flying Eye Hospital’s project in Rwanda, is available to watch on YouTube.