By Arunima Rajan

In a significant collaboration with the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, Zeiss India has established an advanced research facility aimed at harnessing artificial intelligence (AI) for breakthroughs in ophthalmology. According to Ashish Modi, Head of Zeiss India’s Centre of Application Research, the laboratory will not only drive cutting-edge AI innovations but also equip students with critical skills in emerging healthcare technologies.

Can you describe the vision behind ZEISS India’s collaboration with IISc, and what motivated you to invest in a state-of-the-art AI lab focused on eye care?

ZEISS has always collaborated with world class institutes globally to develop cutting edge innovations. IISc is a renowned world class institute, and we believe that a collaboration between ZEISS and IISc will provide a platform for innovative ideas to come up in the area of eye-care. Hence, we have invested in an AI lab that is focused on eye care.

How do you see AI revolutionising early diagnosis and treatment in ophthalmology, and which breakthroughs are you most excited about?

ZEISS has world class devices like fundus camera, OCT etc. which generate data/images by scanning the patient’s eyes. This data is then used by the doctors to diagnose and eventually treat their ophthalmic patients. If this data generated from our devices are used to train AI models, there is a possibility that it can provide insights to doctors that the current data generated from the device does not yet provide. These insights can then be used by the doctor to become more efficient in providing care and improving outcomes. We are interested to see if such breakthroughs can happen.

With the lab set up at IISc, what specific areas of AI research in eye care will be prioritized, and how will these innovations address current challenges in the field?

ZEISS is looking for ideas coming from IISc students and their mentors in area of eye care using AI. We are open to any eye care challenge that they choose to solve. We will be happy to provide them with any market related information that they might be interested in knowing.  

ZEISS is open to ideas in broad and varied areas of eye care research which includes but not limited to age related disorders, systemic diseases, Oculomics, digital twin, quantification tools, big data analytics for precision eye care, diagnostic evaluation, outcome prediction, prognostication, and to guide patient management and treatment responses.

In what ways does this initiative provide a platform for academic researchers and students, particularly through the CSR-sponsored MTech fellowship program?

This initiative provides them an interesting area to work on and the required infrastructure to do the research. Also, this initiative would attract hospitals and doctors which will help them guide their research MTech thesis work. It would also enable the students to understand the fascinating domain of eye care and pursue advanced research through Ph. D programs in eye care both in India and abroad.

Could you share some insights into the types of projects that the sponsored MTech students might undertake, and how these projects could impact both the academic and practical aspects of eye care?

Some projects that they could undertake are early diagnosis and screening of different kinds of eye ailments like Cataract, Glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy. These projects could have the potential to prevent needless blindness by identifying the disease early and helping them see an eye doctor in time.

ZEISS is renowned for its commitment to R&D in optics and medical technology. How does this collaboration align with your global strategy in these sectors?

As I said before, it is completely aligned with our global strategy to work closely with our partners to develop innovative solutions using cutting edge technology for early diagnosis and prevention of needless blindness globally and especially in developing countries.

What are the primary challenges in integrating AI technologies into clinical eye care, and how is your research lab positioned to tackle these issues?

Integrating AI technologies into clinical practice faces multiple challenges. This includes but is not limited to –

Proving the clinical value proposition of AI solution to the users (in this case doctors)
Clinical validation
Economic value in terms of affordable and optimised computational capability
Regulatory approval. In this lab we are looking to come up with solutions that can prove the value proposition of the solution to the users (doctors). So, we are trying to solve the first issue with this partnership.

The partnership aims to demystify AI through public demonstrations and patient testimonials. How do you plan to engage and educate the community on these advanced technologies?

Once the innovative solution for eye care is developed, we will involve doctors and patients for clinical validation of the idea. Post that we will use clinically validated data and patient testimonials to publish papers in international conferences and journals. We will use different platforms available to then disseminate the information to the broader community using our KOL (Key Opinion Leader) doctors who will then inform other doctors and subsequently these doctors will then inform the patients. We are also open to using any other platform digital or print to educate all stakeholders about the solutions once it is clinically validated and approved by regulatory bodies.

Long-term collaborations between industry and academia can face hurdles. What potential challenges do you foresee in this partnership, and what strategies are in place to overcome them?

ZEISS and IISc are both used to having long term collaborations with different partners. There can be many potential hurdles that can come up however our strategy is to be focused on getting an innovative solution to pressing eye care problems that the world is facing. This is of prime importance to both ZEISS and IISc. Once such a solution is identified, we will work towards developing that solution and getting it clinically validated. In these activities there can be technical issues and data requirements. IISc with its vast pool of high-tech human resources will focus on tackling the technical problems. Additionally, IISc is building a new hospital in collaboration with TATA group, which would be an ideal place for collecting patient data for training the AI models. The hospital can also act as test bed for rapid prototypes that are developed from the AI lab.

Looking ahead, how do you envision this initiative influencing global trends in eye care, especially considering India’s emerging role as a hub for scientific innovation?

As we know India is becoming a knowledge hub for the world. We have world class academia, talent pool and now making progress with infrastructure and eco-system for advanced research. Transitioning from this strength to creating scientific innovation would need building deep understanding of the domain and creating a platform for experimentation where academia and industry could collaborate. With that as our core idea, we are hoping that this initiative would give rise to some great concepts which can push the needle of scientific innovation in eye care from India.    

IISc has entered a strategic collaboration with ZEISS India, to advance cutting-edge research in artificial intelligence (AI) for eye care. The partnership aims to enhance the creation of a top-class research facility dedicated to developing high-fidelity AI solutions. Supported by the Spectrum Lab in the Department of Electrical Engineering at IISc, the initiative will cater to the transformative potential of AI to enhance early diagnosis and patient outcomes. This collaboration will investigate the global prevalence of vision impairments along with the facility serving as a centre for research in AI-driven solutions for early diagnosis and improved accuracy in eye care. Together, ZEISS India and IISc Bangalore seek to explore and promote the use of advanced AI technologies in ophthalmology and will aim to attain the streamlining process.

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Zeiss India Bets on AI Lab at IISc Bengaluru to Reinvent Eyecare