Phelcom Technologies recently participated in the 6th Middle East Ophthalmology Meeting (MEOM), held from October 3rd to 5th in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Recognized as one of the most significant events in the ophthalmology field within the Middle East, MEOM offered a strategic opportunity for Phelcom to solidify its international expansion and bolster its position as a leading competitor in the global ophthalmic device market.
Partnering with its local distributor, Allm MEA, Phelcom aims to strengthen relationships with regional clients and explore new business opportunities.
“The response from local professionals has been overwhelmingly positive. Many emphasized the significant impact of the Eyer portable retinal camera in clinical practice, screening exams and for patients with special needs, those who are bedridden or have physical disabilities. Even for those who don’t use Eyer as their primary equipment, its complementary role in various clinical settings was evident,” says Mário Costa, Phelcom’s International Business Manager.
The Eyer, a portable, non-mydriatic fundus camera that attaches to a smartphone that performs high-quality retinal examinations in just a few minutes. In addition, Phelcom offers the EyerMaps AI platform, capable of detecting potential retinal abnormalities within seconds.
As an international hub, Dubai attracts professionals not only from the UAE but from across Asia, Southeast Asia, and Europe. “This allowed us to extend Phelcom’s reach into new markets and unlock future opportunities, including research collaborations and social impact initiatives,” Costa adds.
Phelcom’s booth at MEOM 2024.
Innovation and Development in the Middle East
Dubai is renowned for its dedication to innovation, future-focused thinking, and technological advancement, particularly in healthcare. “From the moment we arrived, we could see the emphasis on cutting-edge technologies and innovative care models. This is a region that highly values tech-driven development, which has fueled its growth. For us, being in an environment that fosters such progress is incredibly enriching,” Costa remarks.
The local culture, with its focus on precision and excellence, aligns perfectly with Phelcom’s values of ensuring top quality across all stages of product development and service delivery. “Our participation in MEOM 2024 not only strengthened Phelcom’s presence in the Middle East but also provided new insights to continue innovating and expanding our global reach,” Costa says.
Representatives of Phelcom and Allm MEA at MEOM 2024.
Eyer expands presence across six coutries
The Eyer was approved for sale in the UAE in the second quarter of last year. Today, Phelcom is active in six countries: Brazil, the United States, Japan, Chile, Colombia, and the United Arab Emirates.
Additionally, Phelcom is in the regulatory approval phase to expand operations into new markets, including Argentina, Mexico, Vietnam, and Saudi Arabia.
For Phelcom’s CEO, José Augusto Stuchi, being a Brazilian company operating in key global markets is both a source of pride and a significant responsibility. “Our global expansion enhances our capabilities, but it also reaffirms our commitment to delivering high-quality products that make a meaningful difference in the daily practice of ophthalmology professionals,” he explains.
About Phelcom
Phelcom Technologies is a Brazilian medtech company based in São Carlos, São Paulo. The company was founded in 2016 by three young researchers—a physicist, an electronics engineer, and a computer engineer (physics, electronics, computing) —who developed a portable retinal camera integrated into a smartphone.
The first Phelcom prototype was inspired by the personal experience of co-founder Diego Lencione, whose brother struggled with a severe vision condition since childhood. In 2019, Phelcom launched its first product, the Eyer portable retinal camera, in the Brazilian market. Five years later, the company introduced the Eyer2, a comprehensive eye platform capable of capturing high-quality images of both the posterior and anterior eye segments.
To date, Phelcom’s technology has benefited over two million people across Brazil and several other countries, and it has been utilized in over 100 social outreach initiatives.
Results of Renovatio, a non-profit organization that brings visual health and prescription glasses to those who need them the most, saw more than 410,000 eye treatments in 25 Brazilian states and three countries. They also donated more than 180,000 glasses.
According to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), one in six Brazilians has a vision problem. With an adapted 100m² bus, transformed into two modern mobile eye clinics, Renovatio is able to serve medical deserts, such as remote towns, indigenous villages and riverside communities.
“We believe that the most difficult places to reach are the ones that need us the most. Today, 71% of Brazilian municipalities don’t even have an ophthalmologist,” says ophthalmologist and Renovatio’s medical director, Bruna Gil Ferreira.
Since 2022, Renovatio has been using the Eyer portable fundus camera to screen patients. They currently have almost 50 units. The main factors for choosing Eyer were its portability, the fact that it is a Brazilian product and the EyerCloud cloud platform, which allows exams to be stored and shared remotely and in real time.
“The possibility of sending the images for analysis and getting immediate medical consultations, even in remote areas, contributes to a more agile and effective assessment of patients. Sometimes I’m in São Paulo and I can access, in real time, the examination of a patient being treated in the Xingu Indigenous Park,” Ferreira points out.
Renovatio invested in Eyer because of the EyerCloud cloud platform, among other factors.
During the exams, the team evaluates the visual acuity, tonometry, keratometry and uses Eyer for fundus examinations. When Eyermaps artificial intelligence system detects possible retinal alterations, the patient is referred for a medical consultation with a specialist.
If an alteration is suspected, the AI generates a new image with a heatmap highlighting potential retinal abnormalities. The system can help detect diseases like glaucoma, Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD), diabetic retinopathy, hypertensive retinopathy, vascular tortuosity, occlusions, papilledema, retinitis pigmentosa,nevus, and many more.
Ferreira points out that most social work in the ophthalmology area follows protocols based only on visual acuity and, as a result, other diseases are not diagnosed. “Including Eyer in our protocol has contributed greatly to identifying silent diseases that can go unnoticed in screenings focused only on vision.”
A child being examined with Eyer during a social action by the NGO Renovatio.
Chorioretinitis caused by toxoplasmosis
By storing all the fundus images in EyerCloud, Renovatio carried out a comparative study of the frequency of chorioretinitis scars caused by toxoplasmosis in different regions of Brazil.
In total, 9,648 fundus images were evaluated:
Distrito Federal (DF) – 2.496;
Tocantins (TO) – 2.426;
São Paulo (SP) – 1.862;
Minas Gerais (MG) – 1.602;
Rio Grande do Norte (RN) – 742;
Rio de Janeiro (RJ) – 502.
The majority of exams (89.04%) showed no alterations. Of the 10.95% of images with alterations, 7.09% contained suspicions and confirmations of chorioretinitis scars:
Tocantins (TO) – 62,7%;
Minas Gerais (MG) – 14,7%;
Distrito Federal (DF) – 10,07%;
São Paulo (SP) – 8%;
Rio de Janeiro (RJ) – 2,7%;
Rio Grande do Norte (RN) – 1,3%.
Among the results obtained in all states, there was a higher prevalence in women (74.7%) and a higher number of cases in the left eye (37.3%), followed by both eyes (33.3%) and then the right eye (29.3%).
It is also worth noting that the state of Tocantins had the highest incidence of the disease in the left eye (26.7%), in both eyes (17.3%) and in the right eye (18.7% of diagnosed cases).
The use of Eyer integrated with EyerCloud allowed Renovatio to carry out this important mapping, which can help with future management of toxoplasmosis, a pathology that can lead to loss of vision.
NGO Renovatio has already traveled to 25 Brazilian states providing free ophthalmic consultations and donating prescription glasses to those who need them most.
Eyer
Eyer is a portable fundus camera that works with an integrated smartphone to perform high-quality retinal examinations in just a few minutes without the need for pupil dilation.
Currently, more than 15 million tests have been carried out in Brazil, the United States, Chile, Colombia and Japan. The technology is also present in the United Arab Emirates and is in the regulatory process of being marketed in Mexico, Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
Phelcom recently launched Eyer2, a true visual examination platform that allows you to capture the posterior and anterior segments with high quality images.
With new embedded tools and improved functions, the new equipment makes it possible to capture various conditions of the anterior segment of the eye, such as blepharitis,eyelash alterations, meibomian gland dysfunction, styes, conjunctival tumors, eyelid tumors, advanced cataracts, foreign bodies, burns, corneal lesions and keratitis in general, caused by dry eye, contact lenses, infections and ulcers.
Portability, connectivity and integration with intelligent functions such as EyerMaps, together with the technology’s affordability, are contributing to increased access to retinal examinations.
About Phelcom
Phelcom Technologies is a Brazilian medtech company based in São Carlos, in the interior area of São Paulo. The company’s story began in 2016, when three young researchers – a physicist, an electronics engineer and a computer engineer (physics, electronics, computing) – created a portable fundus camera integrated with a smartphone.
The first prototype project was born out of partner Diego Lencione’s interest in visual health, as his brother has had a condition that has severely compromised his retina and vision since childhood.
In 2019, Phelcom launched its first product in the Brazilian market: the Eyer portable fundus camera. Today, the technology has reached more than two million people throughout Brazil and in the countries where it is present and has been used in more than 100 community screenings.
In October of last year, the NGO Médicos da Amazônia undertook a mission with a special objective: to provide complete, free eye care to approximately 500 indigenous people from the Marmelos Village, in Amazonas.
The NGO offers health acess to Brazilian indigenous communities through specialized care, modern and advanced techniques and equipment, and highly trained professional, always respecting the ancestry of their cultures and values. Since its foundation, in 2015, it has carried out more than 64 thousand medical and dental consultations and procedures.
To document the patients’ fundus and anterior segment, the voluteer medical team used the Phelcom Eyer smartdevice. The device works in conjuction with a smartphone and performs high-quality retinal examinations in a few minutes without the need for pupil dilation. As it is integrated with the clooud, it automatically males the data available on the Eyercloud online platform for analysis by a specialist anywhere. In other words, it enables remote diagnosis.
“As well as being portable and not needing internet at the time of the examination, Eyer optimizes care and does all the documentation for patients, wich allows them to be followed up correctly. This is essential for any action in remote areas”, says ophthalmologist Jade Fernandes de Melo, one of the project’s volunteers.
The main retinal diseases diagnosed by the NGO were diabetic retinophaty, glaucoma, Age-related macular disease (AMD) and asteroid hyalosis, among others. The doctors also detected cataracts, refractive alterations and pterygium. The patients were referred to indigenous Health for treatment.
Melo evaluates the device as easy to use, self-taught, with excellent image quality and essential in primary care. “The Eyer can make a difference to many people’s lives by bringing ophthalmic access to remote communities with a lack of health infrastructure”, Melo believes.
Doctor Iddi Ndyabawe, ophthalmologist and a passionate ROP specialist in Uganda, East Africa, was responsible for the very first ROP study in the country, published by BMC Ophthalmology in 2023. He’s currently involved in Adult Retina services as well, working in a screening project for diagnosing CMV Retinitis in HIV patients with meningitis admitted at Kiruddu National Referral Hospital and Mulago National Referral Hospital. He also offers Diabetic Retinopathy screening services to private patients at Kisubi Hospital.
Dr Iddi in the Aravind Eye Hospital Library, Coimbatore India
Dr. Iddi got to know about the Eyer Retinal Camera in February 2023, when Nurse Nancy Maria Douat Dietrich from Santa Catarina, Brazil came along with the high quality images device and joined the ROP screening activities at Kawempe National Referral Hospital.
“When Nancy saw my passion for ROP in Uganda, she communicated with Mr. Jose Augusto, CEO of Phelcom, who then sent me an Eyer Fundus camera by June 2023 as a support for my humble efforts in ROP “, recalls Dr. Iddi.
Dr Iddi training in laser therapy for ROP on an eye model
Dr. Iddi crossing the flooded roads to reach the village NICU to conduct ROP screening
According to Dr. Iddi, the main advantages of the Eyer Fundus Camera for his medical practice are:
Eyer takes clear resolution images for best diagnosis of posterior disease;
It is perfect at CDR assessment;
Eyer can easily pick out the hyperemic disc in optic neuritis that could easily be missed;
EyerMaps heat map is perfect in pointing where the clinician should pay more attention.
Dr. Iddi mentions as well that the portability and non-mydriatic use of Eyer Fundus Camera, which allows him to perform examinations in different scenarios. He recalls one particular Sunday when a relative came in complaining of reduced vision. He was able to discover a diagnosis of toxoplasmosis right there in his own home.
About the Eyer
Eyer Portable Fundus Camera
The Eyer is a portable fundus camera that works in conjunction with a smartphone and performs high-quality retinal examinations in a few minutes without the need for pupil dilation.
The technology supports the diagnosis of more than 50 diseases, including glaucoma, cataracts, diabetic retinopathy, AMD, retinoblastoma, hypertensive retinopathy and ocular toxoplasmosis. Currently, more than 10 million tests have been carried out in Brazil, the United States, Chile and Colombia.
The technology’s portability and affordability democratize access to retinal examinations. It costs approximately six times less than a conventional tabletop fundus camera, which still needs to be integrated with a computer.
About Phelcom
Phelcom Technologies is a Brazilian medtech company based in São Carlos, in the interior area of São Paulo. The company’s story began in 2016, when three young researchers – a physicist, an electronics engineer and a computer engineer (physics, electronics, computing) – created a portable fundus camera integrated with a smartphone.
The idea for the first prototype was realized by Diego Lencione’s interest in visual health, as his brother has had a condition that has severely compromised his retina and vision since childhood.
In 2019, Phelcom launched its first product on the Brazilian market: the Eyer portable fundus camera. Today, the technology has reached more than two million people across Brazil and worldwide.
In four years, the company has participated in more than 100 social actions and was recently named one of the 10 most innovative companies in Brazil by Forbes.
As a child, Phelcom’s Co-Founder and CTO Diego Lencione dreamed of becoming an ophthalmologist. His goal was to help people who suffered from retinal and vision impairment like his older brother, Welber Lencione.
Welber was diagnosed with high myopia when he was seven months old. During his childhood, it reached 17 degrees. The main difficulty with the disease is being able to see distant objects clearly. However, for those with high degrees of myopia, the symptoms are even more serious and have a significant impact on quality of life.
At school, seeing the small print on the blackboard was a real challenge for Welber. “For me to be able to see well, I have to get very close to my cell phone, computer or television. Without my glasses, I can’t even leave the house”, he explains.
High myopia can cause a series of eye complications and significant damage to vision. At the age of 11, Welber suffered retinal detachment in both eyes. At the time, he was admitted to the hospital for two months for treatment.
At 18 years old, he had another episode of retinal detachment, also in both eyes. However, laser surgery was available and he returned home the same day. Since then, he has had no further complications and his myopia has dropped to 11 degrees. “All this has matured me a lot. In the end, time goes by and things settle down”, he reflects.
Welber currently has a productive life full of achievements. He works as a security guard at the University of São Paulo (USP) for 18 years, has a 12 year old son named Andrew, is a regular reader and recently became a marathon runner.
Welber Lencione during a competition
Running
Welber says he has always loved sports. Seven years ago, he started running. “I don’t have any difficulties related to my eyesight. I feel 100% myself when I run”.
The athlete has been taking part in competitions in and around São Carlos (SP) for three years. To prepare, he trains in his own neighborhood, day in and day out, in the company of some colleagues. In January, he achieved something he never had before: he completed a marathon in Ribeirão Preto (SP).
Welber finished the last 100 meters of the Ribeirão Preto Marathon alongside his son, Andrew.
Welber reveals that he wants to do it again, but in the famous “São Silvestre International Race”, which takes place every year on December 31st in the city of São Paulo. The obstacle? “It’s a very bad date,” he jokes.
Inspiration
During Welber’s first surgery, Diego was four years old. He had to spend days away from his beloved brother and his mother, who stayed with her firstborn for two months in the hospital.
Throughout his childhood and adolescence, Diego followed his brother’s journey: “When I grew up, life took me into other areas and I ended up studying Physics. At university, I specialized in optics and, before I knew it, I was already working in research and development of ophthalmic equipment,” Diego recalls.
Phelcom’s Co-Founder and CTO, Diego Lencione, with his brother, Welber Lencione.
This gave rise to Phelcom and the idea of creating Eyer -a portable fundus camera that aims to help combat severe visual impairment and blindness. The first tests performed with the first prototypes were on Welber’s eyes. “It was an unforgettable moment. We created something that allowed us to clearly see the changes in his retina and that it would soon be useful for many other people as well. Many times throughout Phelcom’s history, I’ve found myself returning to this time, especially in the company’s most difficult moments”, he reveals.
His brother continues to be a source of inspiration for Diego. Recently, the youngest brother performed a new retinal examination on Welber with the help of EyerMaps, an Artificial Intelligence (AI) system that runs on board Eyer and detects any suspected retinal abnormalities with high accuracy.
The AI pointed to the presence of something new in the back of Welber’s eye. “My brother even suspected a new retinal detachment. But with further tests, the ophthalmologist concluded that it was a kind of membrane that had grown there and that it didn’t affect his vision”, he says, relieved.
About Phelcom
Phelcom Technologies is a Brazilian medtech company based in São Carlos, in the interior area of São Paulo. The company’s story began in 2016, when three young researchers – a physicist, an electronics engineer and a computer engineer (physics, electronics, computing) – created a portable fundus camera integrated with a smartphone.
The Lavinsky Clinic in Porto Alegre (RS) uses the Eyer portable fundus camera to take images of the posterior segment. The equipment is used more frequently in one of the units where optical coherence tomography (OCT) is not an option.
“For example, in cases of glaucoma, the OCT exam provides fundamental structural information for diagnosis and progression, but only the photo shows findings such as optic disc hemorrhage. By combining the two tests, we can better diagnose and monitor the progress of the disease. In this way, retinal imaging is essential for glaucoma analysis”, says glaucoma specialist, researcher from Wills Eye, and coordinator of the Diagnostic Unit at the Lavinsky Clinic, Fábio Lavinsky.
Fábio Lavinsky is a glaucoma specialist, researcher from Wills Eye, and coordinator of the Diagnostic Unit at the Lavinsky Clinic.
The images taken with the Eyer can be accessed on the EyerCloud online platform, allowing for complete documentation, patient follow-up and remote reports.
The fundus images help to identify other retinal problems as well. “That’s why Eyer can be differential in the diagnosis of glaucoma, as it takes an exceptional picture”, he points out.
Retinal image of a patient diagnosed with glaucoma taken with Eyer.
Retinal image of a patient diagnosed with glaucoma taken with Eyer.
Lavinsky also uses the EyerMaps artificial intelligence (AI) system, embedded in Eyer, which detects potential retinal abnormalities in real time. If a suspected abnormality is identified, the AI generates a new image with a heatmap highlighting potential abnormalities in the retina. “For clinics that don’t have OCT, this can be a guideline for ordering the test.”
The ophthalmologist points out that AI does not yet accurately identify changes in the optic nerve such as cupping, however, Eyer offers tools for diagnosing the disease.
Stereophoto and CDR – Cup to Disk Ratio
The stereophoto is a video created by Eyer based on the superimposition of retinal images with the nerve and macula in the center of the image. This way, doctors can have a clearer view of the region of interest for diagnosing glaucoma.
Stereophoto taken with Eyer.
The Cup to Disk Ratio (CDR) tool shows the percentage ratio between the optic nerve and the excavation, a measurement which, together with other clinical and diagnostic findings, can indicate the presence or risk of the disease.
With just a few clicks and by selecting the circles that outline the nerve and the excavation on the device’s screen, Eyer not only calculates the CDR, but also the neural RIMA measurements and the ISNT graph, metrics that support the diagnostic interpretation of the exam quickly and more accurately.
CDR – Cup to Disk Ratio tool built into Eyer.
Education
Lavinsky is currently in the United States working as a researcher in imaging and ophthalmology at Wills Eye Hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. But he is also a member of the medical faculty at the University of Vale do Rio dos Sinos (Unisinos), in São Leopoldo (RS).
As well as bringing better clinical results for patients, he believes that Eyer can help teach future doctors. “The Eyer should be like a stethoscope for medicine. Courses should have devices in internal medicine teams and in other related specialties to take pictures of patients with systemic pathologies with ocular repercussions, in the classroom, as well as promoting discussions with students about findings”, he reflects.
Lavinsky explains that the direct ophthalmoscope has a very small field of vision. Although it has some advantages, such as three-dimensionality and showing the optic nerve clearly, the Eyer comes out on top because it has excellent optics and high-quality images that can be viewed digitally by several students. “More specifically, the Eyer should be part of the semiology course. It would be fantastic, something almost revolutionary in education.”
For the doctor, the technology should not only be used in the field of ophthalmology, but also in those where diseases have ocular manifestations, such as endocrinology, cardiology and neurology. “Using EyerCloud, ophthalmologists could provide diagnostic support to colleagues in related specialties. This would greatly speed up the diagnosis and management of important ocular complications, having a positive impact on patients’ clinical outcomes”, he says.
Fábio Lavinsky has no commercial relationship with or receives compensation from Phelcom.He was interviewed for this article because of his expertise and experience in the medical field, with the aim of sharing relevant information about glaucoma and ophthalmic technologies.
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