DocWire News Editors

DocwireNews

Pr3vent, Inc., a Palo Alto startup, has recently received funding for their AI system that screens images of newborn babies&rsquo; retinas to detect eye conditions. Bringing in $1.5 million, the Series A funding was led by InFocus Capital Partners, an investment firm that focuses on companies dealing with diseases in the eye. This funding comes in the wake of a $1 million seed round with Trousdale Ventures and Skyview Ventures.Up to 9% of newborns are diagnosed with pathological conditions in the eye that can cause life-long vision impairment if untreated. Among these pediatric eye complications are hemorrhages and abnormalities that can lead to cancers such as retinoblastomas. With certain rural areas lacking professionals in ophthalmology, diagnosing these conditions before symptoms occur is particularly difficult.Pr3vent&rsquo;s diagnostic tool is the first to integrate AI into diagnosing pediatric eye disease, offering a diagnostic tool for these areas lacking expertise. The system uses an algorithm to analyze noninvasive images of the infant&rsquo;s retina to identify pathologies instantly.Pr3vent has a commercialization agreement with Mednax, a medical group present in over 4,000 hospitals in the country that is also the largest provider of infant hearing screening.&ldquo;From a practical point of view that&rsquo;s huge because it means we will get to the customers, the patients and the baby much faster,&rdquo; said Jochen Kumm, Pr3vent CEO.<a href="https://proddocwire.wpengine.com/docwire-pick/future-of-medicine-picks/ai-diagnosing-cardiovascular-disease-with-accuracy-equal-to-traditional-means/">READ MORE:&nbsp;AI Diagnosing Cardiovascular Disease With Accuracy Equal to Traditional Means</a>Market research firm Frost &amp; Sullivan claims leaders in healthcare feel AI will make a strong impact this year. The firm predicts by that the market for AI in healthcare will reach $1.7 billion by the end of the year, a 68.5% increase of compound annual growth rate through 2022.&ldquo;InFocus Fund I is proud to lead the current round of funding for Pr3vent,&rdquo; said Ron Weiss, MD, managing partner of InFocus Capital Partners. &ldquo;We value the company&rsquo;s innovative AI platform and understand the importance of helping it succeed. Their creation is at the forefront of AI technology in ophthalmology, and we believe it will help prevent avoidable vision loss in children.&rdquo;Pr3vent is the product of former Stanford University students Darius Moshfeghi and Kumm. Moshreghi Is a practicing ophthalmologist and claims to have had patients suffering from eye disease that could have caused less visual impairment if identified sooner.&ldquo;We are committed to building the future of AI in ophthalmology and changing the way healthcare providers detect, diagnose and treat eye disease in children,&rdquo; said Moshfeghi. &ldquo;InFocus Capital Partners&rsquo; Series A financing will help accelerate the processes of developing our revolutionary imaging system for early detection of preventable vision loss in newborns.&rdquo;<a href="https://proddocwire.wpengine.com/future-of-medicine/unique-ai-system-identifies-objects-via-similar-processes-as-humans/">READ MORE:&nbsp;Unique AI System Identifies Objects Via Similar Processes As Humans</a>With Kumm&rsquo;s experience in developing computational healthcare tools, the two devised an idea for software that detects eye pathologies early in pediatric patients to control visual impairment later in life. The AI platform they created was trained using hundreds of thousands of infant retinal images. Kumm reports the system to be 97% accurate in screening patients for retinal abnormalities.Pr3vent is following suit of many other digital health startups leveraging AI in diagnostic procedures. Among these companies is IDx, an Iowa-city based startup <a href="https://proddocwire.wpengine.com/docwire-pick/future-of-medicine-picks/idx-paving-way-ai-use-medicine/">covered on DocWire</a> that received FDA clearance for their AI diabetic retinopathy tool last year.<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Pr3vent, a healthcare AI company developing machine vision for detecting eye disease in newborns, has closed a Series A financing led by InFocus Capital Partners. Read more: <a href="https://t.co/IsIDsA1A3f">https://t.co/IsIDsA1A3f</a> <a href="https://t.co/iF0jrNFYzK">pic.twitter.com/iF0jrNFYzK</a>
&mdash; Eyewire News (@EyewireNews) <a href="https://twitter.com/EyewireNews/status/1095354501433880577?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 12, 2019</a>
</blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>Sources: <a href="https://www.apnews.com/21f56f5bf999482d993a10fe10832efe">AP News</a>, <a href="https://medcitynews.com/2019/02/silicon-valley-startup-pr3vent-raises-series-a-for-ai-based-screening-of-newborn-eye-conditions/?rf=1">MedCity News</a>

Jordana Jampel

Positive Preliminary Results From Phase 1 Trial of Dopaminergic Neuron Graft for Parkinson’s Disease

Dementia

Bradley Warady, MD

Joel M. Topf, MD, FACP

2025 Hume Award Winner Is Dedicated to Children’s Care

NKF Spring Clinical Meetings 2025

Distant Brain Metastases in Cutaneous Melanoma May Be Mitigated With Multiple Pathway Inhibitors

Melanoma

Latest News

Pr3vent Receives Funding for AI-System Diagnosing Newborn Eye Disease

Pr3vent, Inc., a Palo Alto startup, has recently received funding for their AI system that screens images of newborn babies’ retinas to detect eye conditions. Bringing in ...

About Us

Editorial Policy

Advertising

Contact Us

eNewsletters

Contribute

Career Center

MashupMD

Blood Cancers Today

Cancer Nursing Today

GU Oncology Now

Urban Health Today

Bile Duct Cancer

Colorectal Cancer

Gastroesophageal Cancer

Gastric Cancer

GEP-NETs

GIST

Liver Cancer

Pancreatic Cancer

GI Oncology Now

Anemia

Deep Vein Thrombosis

Essential Thrombocythemia

Hemophilia

Immune Thrombocytopenic Purpura

Myelodysplastic Syndromes

Myelofibrosis

Myeloproliferative Neoplasms

Polycythemia Vera

Pulmonary Embolism

Sickle Cell Disease

Thrombocytopenia

Thrombophilia

Thrombosis

Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic Purpura

Venous Thromboembolism

von Willebrand Disease

Heme Today

Acute Kidney Injury

ADPKD

Anemia and Kidney Disease

Chronic Kidney Disease

COVID-19 and Kidney Disease

Diabetes and Hypertension

End-Stage Renal Disease

Gout

Hyperkalemia

IgAN

Kidney Transplantation

Metabolic Acidosis

Nephrology Times

HER2 Breast Cancer

HR Breast Cancer

Triple-Negative Breast Cancer

Genetics & Breast Cancer

Breast Cancers Today

Atherosclerotic Disease

Atrial Fibrillation

Heart Failure

Hypertension

Interventional Cardiology

Lipid Management

Practice Tips With Dr. Lichaa

Preventive Cardiology

Stroke

Cardiology

Breast Cancer

Gynecologic Cancer

Head and Neck Cancer

Skin Cancer

Oncology

Sleep

Urology

Diabetes

Ophthalmology

— Demodex Blepharitis

Neurology

Rheumatology

Gastroenterology

Pulmonology

Infectious Diseases

— HIV

Health and Wellness

Lupus

Future of Medicine

Orthopedics

Pharmacology

Career News

More

Conferences

CardioNerds

The Sleep Source With Dr. Morse

Rheumatology Rounds With Dr. Maheswaranathan

Partners

Expert Interviews

Subscribe