Zeiss Medical Ecosystem provides translation for ophthalmic technologies.

Biometers, phaco machines, femto lasers, EHR and other technologies — ophthalmology’s tools of the trade — are getting more advanced and sophisticated, almost by the day. Yet the ability of these devices to communicate directly with each other to streamline treatment and surgical planning, execution and outcomes measurement — the hallmark of true interoperability — remains an elusive goal.

“One of the main issues we face is the lack of integration between different devices and the software they use with one another,” says Ranya Habash, MD, CEO of LifeLong Vision and medical director of technology innovation at Bascom Palmer Eye Institute in Miami. “The other major problem is that we don’t have a seamless way to communicate across health systems or with physicians outside the practice.”

It’s much like translating one language to another. French and English can be used to convey the same idea — Can you take us to the Eiffel Tower, please? — but the two languages employ different words, rules of usage and syntax, and an interpreter fluent in both is needed to help the tourists communicate with the taxi driver.

The Zeiss Medical Ecosystem does just that.

“This fully-connected platform continues the expansion of our integrated workflow solutions, adding value for the customer and enabling new ways to maximize clinical efficiency and performance,” says Euan S. Thomson, PhD, president of ophthalmic devices and head of the digital business unit for Carl Zeiss Meditec. “The power of digital technologies, data management and a range of new applications will create an environment of connectivity, automation, artificial intelligence, and safe and efficient management of data, enabling improved results for patients. I truly believe that the digital ecosystem will provide opportunities to improve the efficiency of healthcare delivery and, ultimately, quality of life for our customers’ patients.”

CONVOLUTION TO REVOLUTION

Beyond sending data from one device to another, The ZEISS Medical Ecosystem translates that data into a form both can understand, regardless of the company of the devices, what software or protocols they use or where they are located. Take cataract surgery, for example. This procedure relies on accurate measurements of axial length, corneal curvature, degree of astigmatism and other characteristics for optimal selection of a patient’s IOL.

“We’ve been doing things the analog way for years,” says Dr. Habash. “We have to print the data out, and in the midst of surgery there’s no easy way to refer back to it, which seems archaic in this day and age.” The Zeiss Medical Ecosystem integrates those measurements from different devices and makes them available on a monitor and easily read at eye level.

“There’s great improvement in efficiency and patient safety when we can get all that data in one common operating picture,” says Dr. Habash.

Another example centers on retinal reads for fundus photographs. Dr. Habash is frequently asked to read images for other doctors for diabetic retinopathy, AMD, glaucoma or other conditions.

“That is a very convoluted process,” she says. “I should be able to see images through the EMR system pretty easily, but I can’t because the machines have to interface with different applications, and the application programming interfaces are not nearly as seamless as they can be when coming from one source.

“Imagine trying to see your social media profile by logging in to Instagram and LinkedIn and Facebook for different pieces just to get the full picture,” she adds. “Now imagine this is your patient’s profile and you need this info to make important medical and surgical decisions.” For a practice doing that 20 times a day, it adds up to a significant toll on efficiency and, potentially, patient care.

The Zeiss Medical Ecosystem makes it possible for doctors to see all a patient’s records under one profile and platform, making it faster, easier and safer to select the best treatment for a given patient.

EYE CARE WITHOUT BORDERS

The Zeiss Medical Ecosystem platform is also capable of performing these tasks between ophthalmology practices across town or across the world — an invaluable capability when second opinions are required.

Dr. Habash manages Bascom Palmer’s tele-consult service, which provides second opinions on cases locally, nationally and internationally. She described recently consulting on a case in another state. “The referring doctor shared the data with us, and I could see some of the records but not all of them, even though they were all on the same [EHR platform]. They were encoded with different software and encrypted with a code. It took us days to talk to IT and get through all of those barriers so I could see the photos,” she says.

To be clear, the Zeiss Ecosystem doesn’t enable practices to actually exchange data with each other; that would fall under HIPAA and other regulations that prohibit transmission of private patient data over the internet. Instead, the platform enables physicians in different practices to view the data as if they were in the same room, much like a Zoom conference presentation.

“There’s seamless data flow,” Dr. Habash says.

Many vendors are able to connect some of their own devices to each other and to their EHR, but Zeiss is the first to take such a comprehensive approach, Dr. Habash says. “It’s really something we should have had a long time ago.” OM