Early detection of ocular diseases is paramount to prevent vision loss.

Current clinical tools focus on anatomy and, therefore, assess damage already made to the eye, which often means, too late.

Eye Diseases are on the Rise

The prevalence of the three main causes of avoidable blindness is expected to increase significantly by 2030.

Glaucoma

Diabetic Retinopathy

Age-related Macular Degeneration

A Paradigm Shift in Ocular Disease Management

What is Ocular Oximetry?

Ocular oximetry is a non-invasive technique that allows the measurement of oxygen saturation of blood (StO₂) in the eye. A rapidly growing number of studies show that oxygen dysregulation plays a central role in several ocular pathologies such as glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, and age-related macular degeneration.

How is StO₂ Calculated?

Zilia’s technology uses light to acquire spectral information at a precise location of the eye fundus. A proprietary algorithm then extracts the known absorption spectra of the oxygenated and deoxygenated states of hemoglobin to calculate the effective oxygen saturation (StO₂).

Improving Visual Outcomes

Identify

Oxygen saturation is an early biomarker of eye diseases and could help identify issues before irreversible damage occurs.

Treat Earlier

Having critical information about the eye’s metabolism allows treatment to start earlier.

Treat Better

Unprecedented insights open the door to the development of improved treatments and new drugs.

What Experts Think

“Focal assessment of the metabolic function of retinal features would be of tremendous value to the clinician for characterizing regions of indeterminant pathology. Until now oximetry measurements have not been granular enough to be useful for diagnostic evaluation. The ability to test any small 400-micron region of the macula could be a game-changer.”

Dr. Richard B. Rosen, MD
Vice-Chairman and Surgeon Director, New York Eye and Ear Infirmary

“Spectral analysis of the eye fundus has long held the potential to enable unprecedented insight into the physiology of the eye and reveal the earliest signs of change and disease. Zilia Ocular Technology, including its feature ocular oximetry, will change our ability to monitor retinal function in both the research lab and the clinic.”

Dr John Flanagan, PhD
Dean and Professor, School of Optometry, UC Berkeley

“While other techniques can only detect metabolic and physiologic changes in large retinal blood vessels, Zilia’s technology shifts the focus towards the assessment of subsurface capillary volumes. Being able to analyze oxygen consumption in the retinal tissue has the potential to facilitate the diagnosis, monitoring, and treatment of various eye diseases.”

Dr. Sobha Sivaprasad, MD
Professor and Consultant Ophthalmologist, Moorfields Eye Hospital

“The technology behind Zilia is poised to open a new way in the management of ocular diseases. The ability to measure oxygen levels non-invasively will provide ophthalmologists with a better understanding of the disease process, thus helping patients achieve better visual outcomes in some of these serious and potentially blinding ocular diseases.”

Dr Rajat Agrawal, M.D., M.S.
Adjunct Faculty, USC Roski Eye Institute, CEO of Retina Global

“Zilia’s ocular oximetry technology can capture real-time metabolic information of the retina and optic nerve, which has the potential to transform diagnosis and management of retinal diseases.”

Dr. Daniel L. Chao, M.D., Ph.D
Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology, UCSD Shiley Eye Institute

“Zilia’s ocular oximetry technology will not only be a valuable tool for eye and vision research but will certainly become an essential means for the early detection of ocular and systemic diseases in clinical settings.”

Dr. Christian Casanova, Ph.D
Dean, School of Optometry, University of Montreal

“To transition from research to clinic, there is a need for quantitative data that can be measured in various tissues of the eye fundus. By capturing absolute oxygen saturation levels on specific structures of the eye fundus, Zilia’s technology is designed to overcome current limitations and has the potential to greatly improve the understanding of ocular metabolism.”

PD Dr. med. Margarita Todorova
Head of Ophthalmology, Kantonspital St. Gallen

“The ability to use spectrometry to quantify biomarkers in the retina will advance diagnosis and monitoring of ocular diseases. Furthermore, it may enable us to look through the eyes as a window into the conditions of other organs and systemic illnesses.“

Dr. Jing Jin, MD
Ophthalmologist, Nemours Children’s Health

“With the introduction of OCT-A, we pushed the boundaries even further into imaging microvascular changes. However, our current capabilities rely on imaging the consequences of metabolic activity. There is a growing demand to improve our ability to detect the changes occurring before the alterations are visible in the OCT.”