TU Dublin And Ocumetra Shortlisted For Prestigious Knowledge Transfer Ireland Award
Knowledge Transfer Ireland (KTI) has announced today that Technological University Dublin (TU Dublin) and Spin-out Ocumetra are one of three finalists for the Future Forward Impact Award.
The KTI Impact Awards recognise and showcase the success of knowledge transfer carried out in Irish Higher Education Institutions and publicly funded research organisations for the wider benefit of the economy and society.
Welcoming the announcement, Dr Paul Maguire, Head of Innovation and Enterprise at TU Dublin, says, "I am delighted that TU Dublin and Ocumetra have been shortlisted for the Knowledge Transfer Ireland Future Forward Impact Award. Ocumetra's technology can have a significant positive societal impact, helping to solve a problem that could affect over half of the world's population in the next 30 years. Getting shortlisted is a wonderful endorsement of the quality of TU Dublin research and what Ocumetra can achieve in the future. TU Dublin Hothouse is delighted to continue our support for Ocumetra and wish James, Ian and the rest of their team the very best on their exciting spin-out journey".
Ocumetra, based in TU Dublin Hothouse Incubation Centre on the Grangegorman campus, is a TU Dublin spin-out company commercialising world-leading research on myopia control undertaken within the Centre for Eye Research Ireland (CERI). Founders Professor James Loughman and Professor Ian Flitcroft have extensive experience in paediatric myopia management. Their pioneering technology, called the Refractogram, makes advanced myopia treatment accessible to all. Originally founded on a single product concept, Ocumetra has developed a powerful portfolio of nine big-data and machine-learning based analytic tools to empower clinicians and industry partners to implement myopia control and deliver better health outcomes within its first year for patients.
Reflecting on the Future Forward Impact Award nomination for the start-up, Prof. James Loughman, co-Founder and CEO of Ocumetra, said, "This is recognition of the ground-breaking advances being made by the Ocumetra team. We are delighted to receive this international acknowledgement of the future impact our technology can create. Our ambition at Ocumetra is to translate our original scientific research into clinical practice tools that enable clinicians to make evidence-based clinical decisions that positively impact people's health and lives.
Continuing, Professor Loughman said, "The growing problem of ocular disease and blindness requires innovative solutions. Ocumetra will empower the required clinical practice evolution to optimise the treatment provided to every individual patient, thereby allowing clinicians to prevent avoidable blindness among the rapidly increasing number of people at risk. This independent recognition of our potential value to society provides us with even further motivation to ensure our technology becomes the essential clinical tool for eye care practitioners so that every patient receives the personalised, adaptive care we can deliver."
Since the launch in 2020, the company has gone from strength to strength, with the team growing to nine people in less than a year. In August 2021, Ocumetra secured their first investment of €250k, with Enterprise Ireland matching the funding.
The 2021 Knowledge Transfer Impact Awards winners will be announced at a virtual awards ceremony on Thursday, 25 November. See the KTI Website for more information.