R&D Magazine selects
ARIS as one of year's top 100 Technologically Significant Products
Clinical Study: Clinical
Detection of Macular Edema in Diabetic Patients
The
Arizona Republic, Aug. 28, 20003 - Prescott firm about to launch camera
that finds eye diseases
7/24/03 Visual Pathways takes part in Federal workshop
on ocular telehealth issues
2/25/03 Visual Pathways receives federal funding to
revolutionize glucose testing for people with diabetes
1/28/03 New vision care diagnostics company develops
sophisticated technology for vision care
1/28/03 Visual Pathways, Inc. receives FDA clearance to
market vision diagnostic instrument
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Gary Buck Visual Pathways, Inc. (928) 778-5002
Visual Pathways
takes part in Federal workshop on ocular telehealth issues
Prescott Biotech Has Received More Than $3 Million in Funding From Dept.
of the Army
(Prescott, Ariz., July 24, 2003) Visual Pathways Inc., a Prescott-based vision care diagnostics devices company, recently participated in a prestigious Federal scientific workshop in Frederick, MD. coordinated by the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command and the Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center. The workshop brought together leading vision care experts from across the United States representing the military branches, Veterans Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Indian Health Service, academic institutions and industry.
The main purpose of the workshop was to review the latest advances in instrumentation and methods for screening persons with diabetes to enable earlier detection and treatment of diabetic retinopathy. There currently are more than 17 million people with diabetes in the United States, all of whom are susceptible to developing diabetic retinopathy, which is the leading cause of preventable blindness among working age people. With early detection, a relatively simple and highly reliable treatment can prevent blindness.
The workshop also solicited recommendations from vision
care leaders on strategies for investment in and deployment of advanced
technologies to address this serious health problem in both the military
and civilian populations. This information will be used as a basis for
an over-arching road map for use by vision care clinicians around the
world in new ocular telehealth initiatives.
“It was an honor to be invited to participate and to present information
on ARIS, our new Automated Retinal Imaging System,” said Gary Buck,
president and CEO of Visual Pathways, which last year received more than
$3 million in Federal funding* through the Department of the Army and
the National Medical Technology Testbed and also obtained FDA clearance
to market its ARIS™ (Automated Retinal Imaging System) product in
the United States.
“It was a very productive workshop,” Buck added. “We had the opportunity to share a great deal of information on the unique operating features of our ARIS fundus camera and explain why it is ideally suited for worldwide use in ocular telehealth.”
Ocular telehealth, by definition, is the use of telemedicine (using the Internet in healthcare) in fields related to vision care.
Visual Pathways’ ARIS product is a patented fundus camera that was developed to address the need for a fully automated system to image the inside back surface of the eye that includes the retina, without requiring a highly trained specialist to operate the instrument. The Company expects to begin commercial shipments of the ARIS product line within 90 days.
Visual Pathways was founded in 1999 by Gary F. Buck, a senior executive with more than 25 years experience in the formation and development of publicly and privately held health care companies, and Tom N. Cornsweet, Ph.D., a renowned expert in the fields of vision, ophthalmology and optics. The company currently has 15 employees and is located in a 5,000-square-foot facility in Prescott, Ariz.
*Federal Funding provided by the National Medical Technology Testbed Inc. (NMTB) under the U.S. Department of the Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity, Cooperative Agreement Number DAMD17-97-2-7016. The views and conclusions contained in this information does not necessarily reflect the position or the policy of the U.S. Army or NMTB.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Gary Buck Visual Pathways, Inc. (928) 778-5002
Visual Pathways receives federal funding to revolutionize
glucose testing for people with diabetes
(Prescott, Ariz., Feb. 25, 2003) A federal grant gives Visual Pathways,
Inc. (VPI), the ability to move into the next phase of development for
its handheld instrument that tests glucose levels in people with diabetes
replacing the traditional finger-stick method. The handheld device will
be like a small pair of binoculars that will use infrared light to rapidly
measure glucose levels in the eye.
The new vision care diagnostics company based in Prescott, Ariz., recently
received the grant from the National Medical Technology Testbed to develop
a working prototype of its GlucoScope™ Monitor (GSM).(1) The GSM
non-invasively measures glucose levels in the fluid in the anterior chamber
of the eye.
“This grant allows our Company to take development of this revolutionary
instrument to the next stage,” says VPI co-founder and CEO Gary Buck.
“The GlucoScope™ Monitor will eliminate discomfort for people
with diabetes testing their glucose levels and will do so much quicker
than the current process while also reducing the risk for infection. If
we are successful in our development efforts, this product could be available
by 2005.”
Approximately 17 million Americans, and more than 200 million people worldwide,
live with diabetes, a chronic disease characterized by the body’s
inability to produce or properly use insulin, a hormone that converts
sugar, starches and other foods into energy for daily life. In the United
States, more than 1 million new cases of diabetes are diagnosed annually
in people over the age of 20.
Spending to treat this disease accounts for nearly 15 percent of all health
care expenditures in the United States annually. Worldwide, the self-monitoring
of glucose levels is a $4 billion industry.
While many major diagnostic and pharmaceutical companies have been pursuing
alternatives to the finger-stick method to monitor glucose levels, none
has yet been successful in developing a truly non-invasive method for
reliable monitoring. Visual Pathways’ GlucoScope™ Monitor will
allow people with diabetes to do this in an easy to use and cost-efficient
manner. The Company has U. S. and International patents pending for this
instrument.
Named after the neural structures in the brain that subserve vision, Visual
Pathways develops advanced, automated instruments and techniques to enhance
the eye care professional’s effectiveness in preserving vision and
preventing blindness. VPI currently has 14 full-time employees and is
located in a 5,000-square-foot facility in Prescott, Ariz. The facility
includes a well-equipped machine shop, electronics shop, optics laboratories
and software development labs for prototype instrument design and development,
as well as administrative offices.
(1) Federal funding provided by the National Medical Technology Testbed Inc. (NMTB) under the U.S. Department of the Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity, Cooperative Agreement Number DAMD 17-97-2-7016. The views and conclusions contained in this information does not necessarily reflect the position or the policy of the U.S. Army or NMTB.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Gary Buck Visual Pathways (928) 778-5002
New vision care diagnostics company develops sophisticated
technology for vision care
(Prescott, Ariz., Jan. 28, 2003) A new vision care diagnostics company
is developing highly automated, easier to operate instruments that will
lead to the earlier detection of many eye diseases. Earlier detection
can prevent blindness caused by many of the common eye disorders, including
diabetic retinopathy, macular degeneration, cataracts, and glaucoma.
Visual Pathways, Inc. (VPI), a research and product development company,
has been working for the past three years to develop products for the
eye care industry to provide more rapid, more accurate methods for diagnosing
potentially blinding eye disorders in the early stages. VPI’s technology
will improve significantly the way eye care exams are performed by automating
and simplifying diagnostic procedures that previously could only be performed
by physicians or other highly trained personnel. Visual Pathways’
instruments are designed so that existing office staff can operate them,
improving both patient flow and economics in vision care practices.
More than 80 million people in the United States have potentially blinding
eye disorders, more than 16 million diabetics are prime targets for blinding
disorders, and 14 million people have severe visual conditions not correctable
by glasses, according to a 1999 study by the Research to Prevent Blindness
Foundation. Additionally, three of the top 10 Medicare expenditures are
related to vision.
The ARIS™ (Automated Retinal Imaging System) has been developed to
address the need for a fully automated system to image the inside back
surface of the eye that includes the retina, without requiring a highly
trained specialist to operate the instrument. The ARIS has received FDA
510(k) clearance to be marketed in the United States and will aid in the
detection of many medical conditions that adversely impact vision, such
as diabetic retinopathy and macular degeneration. A U.S. patent has been
issued and International patents are pending.
The DigiCat Imager™ (DCI) is designed for rapid, digital, quantitative
imaging of cataracts, which affect more than 5.5 million people in the
United States each year. With the handheld DCI, the cataract can be measured
and monitored over time so that an objective, appropriate and timely surgical
decision can be reached. U.S. and International patents are pending.
The VisPath Analyzer™ (VPA) provides computer-directed, pre-programmed
visual stimuli and automates the examination of pupil function and eye
movements, providing ophthalmologists and optometrists with a more accurate
and rapid representation of medical conditions affecting both the eyes
and the brain, such as tumors or strokes. The VisPath Analyzer provides
faster sampling of eye movement and position than any currently available
eye tracking instruments.
A human clinical study is underway using the VPA, under the direction
of Randy
Kardon, M.D., Ph.D., in the Department of Neuro-ophthalmology at the University
of Iowa Medical Center, and Tom N. Cornsweet, Ph.D., at Visual Pathways.
The study will be used to determine the relationship between abnormalities
in eye movement and pupil response measurements using the VPA and vision
impairment due to defects in the visual neuronal pathways. Additional
examples of medical conditions that may be able to be more rapidly and
cost-effectively diagnosed are multiple sclerosis and myasthenia gravis,
a neuromuscular disorder characterized by muscle weakness and rapid muscle
fatigue.
The GlucoScope™ Monitor (GSM) is designed to be a handheld instrument
for rapid, non-invasive measurement of glucose in the fluid in the anterior
chamber of the eye, which a person with diabetes can hold like a small
pair of binoculars. It will eliminate patient discomfort when measuring
glucose levels because there is no need for the traditional finger-stick
method. Additionally, the instrument will be more rapid and easier to
use than methods presently available. The Company recently has received
funding through the Department of the Army and the National Medical Technology
Testbed to develop a working prototype of the GSM.(1) U. S. and International
patents are pending.
Named after the neural structures in the brain that subserve vision, Visual
Pathway’s mission is to develop advanced, automated instruments and
techniques to enhance the eye care professional’s effectiveness in
preserving vision and preventing blindness.
VPI was founded in 1999 by Gary F. Buck, a senior executive with more
than 25 years experience in the formation and development of publicly
and privately held health care companies, and Tom N. Cornsweet, Ph.D.,
a renowned expert in the fields of vision, ophthalmology and optics.
VPI currently has 12 full-time employees and is located in a 5,000-square-foot
facility in Prescott, Ariz. The facility includes a well-equipped machine
shop, electronics shop, optics laboratories and software development labs
for prototype instrument design and development, as well as administrative
offices.
(1) Federal funding provided by the National Medical Technology Testbed Inc. (NMTB) under the U.S. Department of the Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity, Cooperative Agreement Number DAMD17-97-2-7016. The views and conclusions contained in this information does not necessarily reflect the position or the policy of the U.S. Army or NMTB.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Gary Buck Visual Pathways, Inc. (928) 778-5002
Visual Pathways, Inc. receives FDA clearance to market
vision diagnostic instrument
(Prescott, Ariz., Jan. 28, 2003) Visual Pathways, Inc. (VPI), a new vision
care diagnostic company, has received Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
clearance to market its patented automated retinal-imaging product in
the United States. VPI received FDA 510(k) clearance to market a diagnostic
instrument, the ARIS™ (Automated Retinal Imaging System), that enables
vision care specialists to more rapidly and easily detect potentially
blinding disorders in the early stages of development. Current instruments
vary in diagnostic scanning time from 5 minutes to 30 minutes. The ARIS
has significantly reduced that time to as short as 15 seconds and for
more complicated exams to about 5 minutes. The ARIS can be operated by
existing office staff, while most competitive products require highly
skilled operators.
The ARIS product line provides stereo, digitized images of the ocular
fundus, the inside back surface of the eye, which can reveal early stages
of a wide range of disorders of the eye and the entire body, such as diabetic
retinopathy, macular degeneration and arteriosclerosis, or hardening of
the arteries. The fully automated ARIS requires only minimal training
to operate. The Automated Retinal Imaging System will move into production
shortly and is expected to be ready for shipment in the second quarter
of 2003. A U.S. patent was issued in October 2001 and additional U.S.
and International patents are pending.
“The FDA clearance gives VPI the ability to market our revolutionary
automated fundus imaging technology,” said VPI co-founder Gary F.
Buck. “The ARIS technology, which can detect serious disorders of
the eye and the body, greatly reduces the time, discomfort and margin
of error for both the patient and the medical professional performing
routine fundus exams.”
Funding to advance the ARIS into production and commercialization has
been received through the Department of the Army and the National Medical
Technology Testbed under Cooperative Agreement DAMD17-97-2-7016.(1)
Named after the neural structures in the brain that subserve vision, Visual
Pathway’s mission is to develop advanced, automated instruments and
techniques to enhance the eye care professional’s effectiveness in
preserving vision and preventing blindness.
VPI was founded in 1999 by Gary F. Buck, a senior executive with more
than 25 years experience in the formation and development of publicly
and privately held health care companies, and Tom N. Cornsweet, Ph.D.,
a renowned expert in the fields of vision, ophthalmology and optics.
VPI currently has 12 full-time employees and is located in a 5,000-square-foot
facility in Prescott, Ariz. The facility includes a well-equipped machine
shop, electronics shop, optics laboratories and software development labs
for prototype instrument design and development, as well as administrative
offices.
(1) The content of this information does not necessarily reflect the position or the policy of the U.S. government or the National Medical Technology Testbed.
