The RETINAL project, led by ULMA Embedded Solutions has been selected by the European Commission within the SME Instrument of the Horizon 2020 programme.
This project, developed by ULMA Embedded Solutions in collaboration with other entities of renowned prestige in the health area, such as Osakidetza, the Vall d’Hebron research Institute, Vicomtech-IK4, IDIAP Jordi Gol and the University of Valencia, is based on the automatic analysis of lesions and alterations at fundus, and how these can offer information about highly prevalent diseases (diabetes, high blood pressure), which are associated to several cardiovascular, cerebrovascular and neurological diseases.
The social, health and economic costs arising from these diseases in society worsen the primary care public health problem and therefore the solution has a high impact for society and science.
The UES proposal, which responds to this social need, has been recognised by the European Commission, which selected the project, together with 17 others, from among 543 proposals presented in phase 1 of the category “Open Disruptive Innovation Scheme” on the cut-off date of November 2015, a demanding initiative within the SME Instrument of the Horizon 2020 programme. The success rate in this category has been 3.3%.
The project will receive 50,000 euros financing in phase one to study the concept’s technical viability and commercial potential with the aim of developing an innovative project that will have a social impact, helping ULMA Embedded Solutions to launch innovative solutions into the market.
This project involves offering the market a comprehensive ophthalmological imaging solution compounded of modular software for automatic analysis and procesing of fundus images in order to detect different lesions and eye diseases, and a low-cost fundus image capturing device which can be used for general use in health care centres with low resources. The solution developed by ULMA Embedded Solutions will enable effective treatments by providing early diagnosis of diseases through the retina.