CHICAGO, March 22, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Diabetic retinopathy is the leading cause of blindness among working-age adults because it often goes undetected. With early detection and treatment, as much as 95 percent of vision loss cases can be prevented1.
The new Welch Allyn® RetinaVue 100 Imager works in conjunction with the RetinaVue Network to make diabetic retinopathy screening in primary care settings truly practical for the first time. By quickly and comfortably screening patients as part of their routine primary care visit, it has been shown that RetinaVue can double patient compliance for potentially vision-saving annual diabetic retinal exams (DREs) in 12 months2.
“Diabetes is an epidemic; there are 44 million people living with diabetes in North America today, and by 2040 there will be 60 million3. It’s simply tragic that a large percentage of patients with diabetes aren’t being screened for diabetic retinopathy when it’s one of the most preventable causes of blindness among adults,” said Alton Shader, president of Welch Allyn. “RetinaVue has the potential to change lives by helping to identify diabetic retinopathy in those individuals who had not previously been screened for the disease, enhancing the potential to save the sight of thousands, if not millions, of people with diabetes.”
Welch Allyn, a leading medical diagnostic device company that is a division of Hill-Rom (NYSE: HRC), makes this possible by shattering the price barrier for high-quality fundus imaging. The RetinaVue 100 Imager costs two-thirds less than full-size fundus cameras, yet the imager is designed such that any healthcare professional in a primary care practice can capture and transmit high-quality fundus images with minimal training. The solution utilizes proprietary touchless auto-focus/image-capture technology and integrated image-quality assessment algorithms.
RetinaVue is a complete turnkey solution that consists of a portfolio of partner camera technologies, the newly introduced RetinaVue 100 Imager, the HIPAA compliant RetinaVue Network, and a nationwide team of board certified retinal specialists that review the fundus images and return a diagnostic report and referral/screening plan the same dayusually in 90 minutes.
RetinaVue is part of the Welch Allyn VISION FOR ALL initiative that is committed to delivering simple and affordable screening solutions in primary care settings to help eradicate some of the leading causes of preventable blindness.
For more information, please visit www.retinavue.com.
About Hill-Rom Holdings, Inc.
Hill-Rom is a leading global medical technology company with 10,000 employees worldwide. We partner with health care providers in more than 100 countries by focusing on patient care solutions that improve clinical and economic outcomes in five core areas: Advancing Mobility, Wound Care and Prevention, Clinical Workflow, Surgical Safety and Efficiency and Respiratory Health. Around the world, Hill-Rom’s people, products, and programs work towards one mission: Every day, around the world, we enhance outcomes for patients and their caregivers. Visit www.hill-rom.com for more information.
About Welch Allyn, Inc.
Since 1915 Welch Allyn has brought a unique perspective to developing diagnostic solutions by combining pragmatic knowledge with a visionary spirit of innovation and ongoing improvement. As a leading global manufacturer of physical examination instruments and accessories and EMR-connected vital signs and cardiac monitoring solutions, the company has a steadfast commitment to delivering superlative medical products, services and solutions that help healthcare professionals provide better care for their patients. Now a division of Hill-Rom, Welch Allyn is headquartered in Skaneateles Falls, N.Y. (USA) and employs more than 2,500 people in 26 different countries. Visit www.welchallyn.com for more information. Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.
1 Facts About Diabetic Eye Disease; The National Eye Institute (NEI); https://nei.nih.gov/health/diabetic/retinopathy
2 Telemedicine and Retinal Imaging for Improving Diabetic Retinopathy Evaluation; Archives of Internal Medicine; Vol.172, Num. 21, 2012
3 IDF Diabetes Atlas, Seventh Edition; International Diabetes Federation, 2015
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SOURCE Welch Allyn
