Notal Vision Announces Study Collaboration with American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) IRIS Registry to Gain Insight on Real-world Visual Acuity in Age-related Macular Degeneration

MANASSAS, Va., Nov. 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Notal Vision®, Ltd., a privately-held ophthalmic company focused on an innovative, cloud-based platform for remote diagnostic testing, today announced a collaboration with the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) IRIS (Intelligent Research in Sight) Registry®, a partnership designed to better understand real-world visual acuity (VA) in patients with age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

The IRIS Registry is the first and largest comprehensive source of eye disease data nationwide, holding clinical information from over 16,000 participating physicians and over 140 million patient visits through July 1, 2017. Landmark clinical studies of anti-VEGF therapy for AMD have demonstrated that the best predictor of visual outcomes is baseline VA.  Absolute vision remains significantly better over time in patients that have a better VA at diagnosis and treatment initiation. In an effort to better understand this predictor and characterize VA, Notal will evaluate data from the IRIS Registry on VA at the time of AMD diagnosis across all eyes, as well as the first eye and second eye to convert.  Additional analyses will examine relationships between VA at diagnosis and longer term treatment outcomes and number of injections required.

"The IRIS Registry is the most robust ophthalmic resource for real-world clinical data, treatment patterns, and outcomes in the U.S.," said Susan Orr, OD, Chief Medical Officer & Vice President of Medical Affairs. "We are thrilled to collaborate with the AAO to gain real-world evidence surrounding VA at time of diagnosis, and explore the potential benefit over time of early wet AMD detection," added Susan.

The IRIS Registry will be the subject of a symposium during the American Academy of Ophthalmology on Saturday, November 11^th from 12:15 to 1:15 PM titled, "The Value of the IRIS Registry: What Can We Learn From 100 Million Patient Records?". The value of IRIS Registry lies not only within its ability to support Academy members in meeting the increased demands of quality reporting, but also in driving true improvements in quality and patient outcomes, and enhancing clinical knowledge and advance scientific discoveries.

About Notal Vision's Cloud-Based Platform

Notal Vision has established a seamless, cloud-based platform that connects healthcare providers and their patients through personalized, remote detection of ocular diseases.  ForeseeHome® is an FDA-cleared diagnostic testing device which uses this platform to monitor visual changes in patients at risk of vision loss from wet AMD. It utilizes a patented technology, which is based upon Preferential Hyperacuity Perimetry (PHP), to detect visual distortions often before the patient notices any symptoms. ForeseeHome was evaluated in over 1,500 patients in the AREDS2 HOME study and demonstrated detection of choroidal neovascularization (CNV) at better levels of vision compared to standard care methods.  In the study, office visits triggered using ForeseeHome were 16 times more likely to detect wet AMD than regularly scheduled office visits alone.  Additionally, 94% of patients who progressed to wet AMD with the use of ForeseeHome kept their functional vision (20/40) versus 62% of patients using other detection methods. ForeseeHome is covered by Medicare and most private insurances. To learn more, visit www.foreseehome.com.

The Notal Home OCT, the next application of Notal's cloud-based platform, will enable patients to perform technician-free OCT at home with self-guided fixation ? critical components, especially for elderly patients. The Notal OCT Analyzer (NOA), a proprietary machine-learning algorithm developed in-house, performs automated analysis of the Notal Home OCT scans and generates an alert report to the physician when fluid is present in the retina. The NOA sends reports to physicians for review that ranks OCT cross sections from most to least fluid with associated images, at which point the patient may be brought to the office for evaluation and treatment. NOA can also analyze the output of other commercial OCT devices, and published study data indicate that the performance of NOA was similar to that of retina physicians when each was compared to a panel of experts. The Notal Home OCT has the potential to truly individualize retinal disease management.

About Notal Vision, Ltd.

Notal Vision was founded by two ophthalmologists and is committed to providing the eyecare community with innovative, home-based, diagnostic technologies that support visual health in patients with retinal diseases. ForeseeHome is the first FDA-cleared remote diagnostic testing device that detects and characterizes visual distortion in AMD patients as an aid to monitoring choroidal neovascularization progression. To learn more, visit www.notalvision.com.

SOURCE Notal Vision