IBM Watson Health and IDx, a medical technology company focused on ophthalmology, have entered a five-year agreement to apply cognitive computing applications to eye health.
The collaboration will bring together ophthalmic image analysis from IDx and cognitive computing services from IBM. The two companies will help hospitals, health systems and integrated delivery networks provide value-based care to patients with eye conditions such as diabetic retinopathy and glaucoma.
The first phase of the agreement involves IBM Watson Health distributing IDx-DR, an automated solution that detects diabetic retinopathy. IDx-DR currently is available in 31 countries in Europe. IDx products have not been cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, but IBM Watson Health may expand its distribution to Australia, Canada and the United states upon regulatory approval.